Seraphim of Rebirth
by Domagonic
Summary: Yuichiro Hyakuya is desperately searching for his place in the world that is rife with conflict between humans and Vampires. He quickly learns that death may not be as rooted in tragedy as much as he was previously led to believed. Sometimes the greatest tragedy is to keep living on in a world constantly drawing closer to end of times. [A retelling of the series.]
1. Escape Sanguinem Arc

**_AN: Welcome to my story, I apologize if this AU isnt your cup of tea. I don't own Seraph of the End all rights belong to Takaya Kagami._**

* * *

x

* * *

 **Part 1: Providence**

 **[The protective care of God or of nature as a spiritual power]**

* * *

There was nothing more ironic than building a pedestal for yourself to get above others. We humans spent so long on the surface, bathing in the sunlight and likening ourselves to the gods.

Looking back in time we even treated Vampires as sentient trash that dwelled in the darkness. We failed to see that we were just different parts of the same tree.

That is why the Apocalypse Virus was seen as something to laugh at by the Vampires. It was our divine punishment in some ways.

Nearly everyone over thirteen years of age got the retched virus. It consumed the entire globe within just a few days' time. We were ill prepared to fight back and lost before we knew it. Then the Vampires emerged from down below with luminescent eyes ablaze.

Those who didn't get the disease and die... those who remained in this world grew numb. The horror of our new reality didn't set in at first at all. Not even as we were herded together and taken from our homes.

Not even on the first night of getting blood taken did it truly register. The repetition eventually brought most of us back down to earth. Children and the remaining healthy adults of Japan had become livestock.

Our fates had been decided for us, this was the end of the line. The underground Capital city of Sanguinem had officially become our new home... and the place we would eventually die in.

Four long years had turned my hopelessness and despair into an unshakable purpose. I no longer saw the Vampires as a race that needed to be annihilated. I just wasn't going to die livestock in their cushy pen.

As a family of fifteen total donators the Hyakuya name quickly became wealthy in sense. The majority of the orphans were under ten and still had to bear witness to newfound horrors. Our greatest advantage would always be how close we were.

We got a larger dwelling to call our home, closer to the center of the Capital. We received better food, service and accommodations from our Vampire masters.

We were allowed to change the dates of our donations and we took full advantage of the leeway. We quickly adopted a cycling formation where the main donators would receive a week of relaxation.

The Hyakuya name and way of doing things became the very standard for all livestock. It was true that we provided the most stable source of blood but was it fair to treat us better?

In the end I decided that we would do what we must now to eventually escape. Even if there really was nothing but a ruined world to return to. It had to be better than dying like this and never seeing the sun again.

Being the premium suppliers of blood meant we had the opportunity to meet the nobility of this Capital city. Apparently this was the largest and most prominent of the Vampire cities. That implied there were many more scattered across Japan.

These privileges also included exemption from the curfew and permission to explore the outskirts of the city unmolested. It opened new doors and brought forth even more possibilities to our plight.

In reality though... it was a battle we could really only hope to win.

* * *

"What is the time now, Mika?"

Mikaela ignores me for several moments before opening his eyes slowly. He yawns into his right hand before looking at his watch.

"It is 6:28 P.M... have some patience... I'm sure they are moving as fast as possible."

I knew this to be true already but patience had never been my strong point. Mikaela ever the devil's advocate would say that the cart that holds the siphoned blood was heavy to begin with. It only grew heavier the more it absorbed.

The Vampires were blessed with vitality and enhanced strength though. Their innate power was undeniable and hardly even on a comparable level. Why exactly would a cart slow them down?

"I have a better question... what's for dinner tonight? I'm hungry."

Mikaela opens his mouth to answer but pauses as the technician team stops in front of us. The two Vampires on duty glide away from the cart and stand next to us with two familiar cords.

I voluntarily relax myself as the Vampire grips my shoulder firmly. The chokers around our neck were made to keep us from losing to much blood in the event that a technician made a mistake.

"Please hold still."

I wince in pain as the surgical needle enters the side of my neck. It stings for only for a moment but I was busy watching my blood pump into a glass vat.

"The Vampire and nobility of Sanguinem would like to thank you for your continued cooperation. Make sure to pick up your Vital Nourishment Pack [VNP] before you check out."

One of the hooded Vampire stares at me with dull eyes and a vacant expression. The glow that lit up their eyes was dim in his, and his voice didn't hold much character.

If you looked hard enough at them you could see different flittering emotions on their faces. Disdain, hatred, sadness, pity, melancholy and sometimes even joy. We were forced to live so close and yet we knew so little about each other.

The Vampire gently removes the needle from my neck as I reach the limit for given blood. Not a drop of blood escapes the small wound as our chokers immediately spring into action.

"Alright, Mika let's get going, we need to make sure everyone is where they _need_ to be."

The chokers each of us had had very simple purposes but were both a necessity and a blight. Each one was unique and held our individual identification numbers. They could electronically scanned to find out the last time we were drank from.

Ingenious technology that protected and imprisoned their sentient livestock. Keeping it on meant that you could be tracked by a technician at any given time. Taking it off meant dying by the first vampire to find you.

"Did you hear that, Mika? If I'm not mistaken that Fang's stomach rumbled. He was _thirty_ on the job, now why would he purposefully torture himself like that?"

"I can only speculate, Yuu. Perhaps not every Vampire is equal."

I avert my eyes and nearly wince as I recall the darker times from just three years ago. The livestock of Sanguinem had hit milestones over the years and changed a great deal for the better.

It just wasn't the same playing field with the Fangs, I had memorized faces by now. They didn't age or change physically, but emotionally was another thing altogether.

They were hiding something behind their blank expressions, of that I was certain. I would keep my speculations to myself, especially when we were so deep within the Capital.

"It would be so... human of them if that were true."

His blood hair sways up and down as he nods without further response. We both stop already at the back of the line leading away from the Blood Bank.

The blockades were also dual purposed procedure put into place. They were waypoints used to keep track of personal datum on each individual livestock. The system here decided what items would be necessary for clear health and continued life.

Those who can't feed the Fangs won't get fed themselves.

* * *

"State your name."

"Yuichiro Hyakuya."

The Vampire nods in head in approval as my personal data moves across the screen in his hands. He turns away for a moment and pick up a familiar white cube-like box.

I take the box without question only giving the Fang a single nod.

"You may pass."

I slowly saunter pass the checkpoint, giving Mikaela ample time to catch up. I fish my hand into the simple white box for the nutrient rich mixture they always gave everyone.

By the time we reached the end of the walkway a Vampire clad in all white was approaching us with two normal Vampires in tow. I finish chugging the salty drink down with grimace, sighing with displeasure.

"Is that your noble, Mika? Ferid Bathory?"

He nods almost reluctantly and strolls forward clearly to greet the noble.

"Greetings Lord Ferid!"

"Oh hello dear Mika, how are things?"

He asks with a sickeningly pleasant smile on his face. Almost like he was actually coming to care for Mikaela.

"I'm just fine, everything is going well."

"I can't tell you how happy that makes me to hear that. Why not come by my mansion tonight for dinner? I am having a guest over who you may wish to meet."

He reaches out and caresses the left side of his face with affection.

 _I wonder how much of that affection is real and how much is artificial._

"I would like that, thank you for having me."

"Of course you and any of the rest of your family are always welcome at my home. I'm sure their blood is just as good as yours young Mika."

He pauses and turns his attention away from Mikaela as if just now noticing my presence. He smiles again just as wide while gesturing towards me.

"Is your brother there coming along to visit this evening as well, Mika?"

"Unfortunately not, but one of my other brothers is planning on attending if you don't mind. He is just as anxious to meet you!"

Ferid chuckles and brushes his cape out of the way in an outlandish flurry. He was officially making me sick, he had none of the mannerisms of normal Vampires.

"That is perfectly acceptable, I'll have dinner preparations for two this evening then. Kamishiro darling, please return to my estate and alert the head chef immediately."

The female Vampire who accompanied him bows low and without a word turns to leave. There was something distinctly different about the Vampires who served as his guards as well.

 _How strange, I just can't put my finger on it._

"Perhaps we can dine together another time, Yuichiro Hyakuya."

He turns to walk in the opposite direction, his remaining guard following closely behind. He offers a wave towards us as he goes.

"A pleasure meeting you and I'm sure we will get a chance to. Perhaps another time though, Lord Ferid."

I sigh in relief and turn to leave myself, slinking through a darkened corridor with Mika tagging along.

"You have way more guts than I ever thought possible, Mika. I've seen other nobles but that guy is on another level. I think he's a Progenitor as well."

"I did mention he was from a distinguished family didn't I? I've also seen him with other nobles over the years. It would certainly make the most sense."

I stop walking and sigh dramatically before running my hand through my hair. I offer him the box and he quickly obliges by carrying them both.

"Get these home and make sure Akane is staying put like we agreed. You have your big dinner and I have my meeting to attend."

I continue walking with my hands in my pocket, the path becoming less stonework and looser cobblestone. I raise my right hand to say goodbye without turning around.

"Be careful, Mika I realize Makoto is strange but it means I always know what she's after. Ferid on the other hand strikes me as an enigma, he is probably smarter than he looks."

* * *

 **Part 2: Kismet**

 **[Destiny; fate]**

* * *

Chihiro Hyakuya digs into the satchel slung across her shoulder for her pocket watch. She flips the trinket open with a soft click and stares at the reflected surface. Curfew would go into effect in just under five minutes.

Yuu had encouraged her to take a closer look at those on the lowest rungs of the social ladder. Whatever that meant. She had to admit that she was curious about the possibility of not all Vampires being evil.

She was also forced to agree that they knew too little about them. If there was to ever be any hope of escaping it would mean going head to head with them. Whether it was with fists or brains would make all the difference.

Their impressive vitality was enough of a deterrent by itself, but their erratic sleeping habits were even more of a concern. It would be the only way to put a chink in their proverbial armor.

She pauses as a single Vampire enters the alleyway on shaky legs. She closes the pocket watch as he passes her. Their close proximity seems to weaken him immensely.

He stumbles once and quickly uses the wall to support himself. He covers his mouth and violently coughs into his open hand while clutching the stone wall.

I take several steps towards the Vampire who instantly recoils. His hand destroying the masonry of the building he gripped. He nearly loses his footing in the display of power completely shattering his illusion of superiority.

"Stay the hell away from me _livestock_... I mean it... stay... away..."

She adjusts her glasses as he slowly slides down to the ground with his back to the wall. His breathing was ragged and irregular, it almost sounded like panting.

 _He looks as though he hasn't slept for days._

He didn't say anything else until she was literally within arm's reach. His hair was untamed and messy, his hood just barely concealing it.

She could see his frame shaking now that she was closer, his hands leaving imprints in the hard stone ground. She could tell he was in a great deal of pain.

"Go on then... laugh... at least I'm not livestock... at least I won't..."

He bites into his lip after realizing his words had become less than impactful. Tears slowly slid down his face as he realized he was going to die having achieved nothing at all.

Chihiro doesn't respond to him with any words, instead opting to remain silent. She then reaches into her satchel and retrieves a vial of her own previously drawn blood.

He looks up at her through blurred eyes as she holds it out to him without fear. He just couldn't fathom why she would do something like this.

"I need your help, and it sounds like you need my blood."

* * *

 **Part 3: Famine**

 **[Extreme scarcity of food]**

* * *

The further away from the center of Sanguinem you traveled the uglier the city became. Vampire patrols thinned and became lax as silence permeated the air.

The more important building and politics went on much deeper within the city. I was after something much more profound that items of any monetary value.

Mikaela gave up his blood for things of value, and I gave up mine for information of value. Knowledge that we would eventually use to escape Sanguinem... or die trying.

The estate before me was old and in terrible state of disrepair. Vampires made it quite clear what they thought of things not related to blood or blood harvesting.

The name of the building was already fading into oblivion, but if one stared long enough they could make it out. Written in a pleasant font and in English no less.

Sanguinem Administrative Archives was a building that was never really considered all that important. If it had been important, it wouldn't be on the edge of the Capital.

I climb the steps to the decrepit building with a calm demeanor. It would be a lie to say that these visits were completely professional.

I ring the buzzer for the office inside the library and wait patiently. The Vampire in question who owned the building now was actually a friend.

"Who waits one hundred nights?"

"Hyakuya."

The electronic lock on the door disables, giving me clearance to enter the building at my answer. I push the heavy wooden door and enter as quietly as possible.

The library had two floors and a loft to its name. It wasn't much though, and the building was being used as more of a living area these days.

The wooden floorboards beneath my feet creak as I step further into the room. I toss the journal I had previously borrowed onto the only table in the room and move closer to the shelves.

The only reason I could read or write now was because of her. Amazingly enough it wasn't just Japanese but English as well.

"I know that wasn't something you're use to reading but I do hope you got something out of it. Thank you for visiting by the way."

I turn my head slightly as Shimura makes her presence known, her movements as quiet as ever. She was just a normal Vampire, unfit for the army and opting out of patrolling duties.

She had broken through the meaningless transgressions of eternal life by surrounding herself with books. Sadly maintaining the library was not a position that paid well at all.

Blood was quickly becoming a scarce and expensive commodity amongst the Vampires. Famine had set in less than a year after the Apocalypse Virus appeared. There wasn't enough blood to go around anymore and they had no way to get more.

I met Makoto Shimura on the verge of death. It was the first time I had ever seen a Vampire look so weak. It was also the first time I had ever let a Vampire drink from me directly.

"Do you have time to talk or do you need to sleep?"

"I would like a drink, it would definitely help rejuvenate me. Have a seat and I'll make us some tea."

It was true that the mutual need for one another was still there. Yet now I felt like she was a trusted friend who was really in the same boat as the rest of us.

I continue looking along the bookshelves while I wait for her to return. I wouldn't pretend that every book and discarded manuscript in this collection was inherently useful but it didn't hurt to read.

She reappears from the second floor with a tray and two cups of tea. She places a cup on the table and I pull out the wooden chair to sit.

Once I'm seated I pick up the cup nearest me and hold it under my nose. The smell of the tea leaves was enough to bring reality crashing back down on my shoulders.

"Shimura, I've given everything a lot of thought recently. It really hit me earlier this evening though, when I met Ferid Bathory. I am left with no doubt now."

She doesn't respond to my voice at all, sipping her tea silently. Her technique for holding the glass was flawless. She was as pragmatic as always, waiting for me to clarify what I meant.

"I've been looking back all weekend, and even further back in years... trying to see what we've accomplished. But there isn't anything... Everything plan we come up with is doomed to fail from the very beginning. I wish I could say it wasn't hopeless, but there is no other path to tread."

She takes another sip of her tea before sitting the cup down quietly. She then props her elbows up onto the table and threads her fingers together.

"So you are ready to concede defeat? Will you abandon all hope of ever seeing the outside world again? Has it all been for nothing, and was it always destined to amount to nothing?"

I clench my fists in anger at how pathetic I sounded. Nothing had changed in all these years, and morale was lower than it had ever been. Every plan concocted was quickly dissolved and we were forced to start over.

"No. I refuse to admit defeat. I won't allow it to end this way. But I feel as though everything around me is fading."

"Yuichiro, years ago when we first met and made our first deal, I was certain that you were caught in an optimistic delusion. My impression of you has evolved, your determination is what gives me hope for a better reality."

She lowers her hands from her face and reaches down beside her for something. I balk in surprise as she sits an object wrapped in paper on the table between us.

"Was this why you scheduled our meeting so late? You actually went to the outside world to get this?"

She nods and I tear into the wrapping with a fervor of excitement.

The book was as dark the nights that were without the moon and in good condition. The design along the cover was gold leaflet and depicted a figure holding scythe.

"Memoirs of Those Who Roam the Darkness?"

"Literature written by _that_ man is illegal in Japan. Bruno Ludwig thought that Vampires underestimated the ingenuity of humans. The reason it's illegal is because it mentioned that Vampires fear of humans prior to the Apocalypse Virus. The fear that their food might one day rise up against them. We have always displayed our greatest weakness on our chests."

I look up from the book and into her eyes in amazement. Suddenly my hope to one day see the sun again was possible again.

* * *

 **Part 4: Sublime**

 **[Of such excellence, grandeur, or beauty as to inspire as to inspire great admiration or awe]**

* * *

Mikaela walks alongside Kota on his way to Ferid's mansion. While Mikaela was originally against his family dipping into the blood politics of Sanguinem he was forced to admit that Kota wasn't that much younger than him.

This worked out in their favor though despite his resistance. Ferid always served dinner for his guests and it was good chance to steal something of value from his mansion.

"Listen up, Kota I need you to act as naturally as possible. Address Ferid with the respect he deserves as part of Vampire nobility."

Kota nods solemnly but his somber attitude only lasts a moment before he grins. Mikaela sometimes forgot to smile himself, seeing it on his face was infectious.

"Let's bring home the good stuff tonight, Mikaela."

He nods unable to suppress his own grin. They both turn back to face the great doors of the mansion of Ferid Bathory. Mikaela reaches out and bangs on the immaculate doors with a closed fist.

The door is opened almost immediately by a normal Vampire minus the hood. She confirms their identities before opening the door wide to allow them inside.

"Lord Ferid has been expecting you master Mikaela. He is also entertaining a guest this evening, please be on your best behavior. Dinner will be served in half an hour."

Mikaela nods obediently and strides into the mansion without a hint of nervousness. Kota follows close behind already feeling his stomach cramp up with unease.

The foyer was as gorgeous as it always was and how Mikaela had come to expect. The Vampire who allowed them inside swiftly closes the door behind them.

Ferid appeared at the top of the grand stairs just ahead of us with a smile on his face. His expression was smooth and smug as if everything was going as planned.

"Young Mika, and Kota as well, I'm so glad you both could make it tonight. Please come join us in the dining hall!"

He turns back around without another word to them, heading back to the dining hall. We follow him without any hesitation, the smell of gourmet food drifting to their nostrils.

 _At least the food is guaranteed to be filling._

"I've been in this mansion dozens of times, the living quarters are upstairs. I also know that there is an entire complex below the mansion, which is where the things we want are."

They both remain silent as they entered the grand dining hall. Everything was going well until he caught sight of the only person already seated at the table.

Mikaela suddenly stops walking and clutches his chest as he felt his heart seize up. The lights in the room suddenly seemed to grow brighter and blocked out his vision.

His breath came out fast and ragged and the sounds around him seemed to be getting further away. He shut his eyes tight and covered his ears as the sound around him became deafening.

He opens his mouth to scream in agony but the sensation ended abruptly before. Sweat soaked his brow and his heart was barely staying in his chest. He quickly followed Ferid to the table.

Ferid pulls a seat out for himself several seats away from the other Vampire at the table.

"Mika now that I get a good look at you, you really don't look well at all. Kamishiro, please bring refreshments for our guests."

Mikaela tries to force his fear back down his throat with several swallows. Kota reaches over touches him slowly, trying to see what was wrong.

"Ah I see, it makes sense now. Could it be that your instincts have finally kicked in? She inspires true fear in your heart."

"Jasper Petrov, second progenitor and the esteemed ruler of China. While I admit she is an opposing Vampire, she's asleep now because she flew here and the in change time zones wore her out."

Kamishiro reappears setting a wine glass full of blood down in front of Ferid. Mikaela shrinks back into his seat unable to slow his heartbeat. He drinks from the glass slowly.

"Not even the queen of Japan, Krul Tepes is as frightening as Jasper so I can relate. Fear is good though, it's a reminder of where you belong in this world and who your master is."

His personal aid Kamishiro sits two glasses down in front of him and Kota as well. A dark black liquid with bubbles all throughout its consistency.

"Apparently that was a popular drink amongst humans before the virus killed most of them. I believe they called it soda!"

Mikaela ignores Ferid completely, watching Jasper intently. She shifts in her sleep ever so slightly, her gleaming white fangs appearing.

 _It's hopeless... we can't fight them... I can't fight them..._

* * *

 **Part 5: One Hundred Nights**

 **[Hyakuya]**

 _Fives hour later..._

* * *

I didn't need to check my pocket watch to know that the moon had long been high in the sky. I was already expecting a violent response to the thought of bringing Vampires into our escape plan.

Years of mistreatment meant that they would be unable to trust any Vampire. The fact remained that if there was to be any hope of escaping Sanguinem it would be with the help of a Vampire.

It would by up to me to make them face reality tonight. If we couldn't combine our strengths and come together then it would all be meaningless.

"You mentioned before that half of the Hyakuya family are active at night and sleep during the day. Any particular reason for that?"

"It was mostly because we were in the dark about Vampires in the beginning. Even in the dead of night some Vampires are still active, while some were in a dead sleep."

I purposefully kept my voice down as we passed a Vampire sleeping up against a building. She was a Vampire herself and was still unable to explain it to me.

"I mean you seem relatively unaffected by fatigue, even though you've been up all day."

"Keep in mind that I just had a little snack. I am tired, but I'm not going to collapse."

We stop just a couple feet from the flight of stairs leading to my home at the sound of shouting. Makoto pauses as I sprint up the cobblestone steps.

* * *

"This is unacceptable, Chihiro! Everything we have worked so hard for is now at risk. We could all die by morning! Do you understand what you have done?"

Mikaela was unable to keep his emotions and anger in check, the light from the candle casting eerie shadows across his face. The rest of family awakened by his shouting averted their eyes to add to their downcast expressions.

"Will you calm down, Mikaela! It was just like I imagined it would be, he would have died without my help. He's a Vampire true but he isn't a blood obsessed sociopath! Can you look him in the eye and still call him our enemy!"

Despite the huge difference in size between them, Chihiro stood protectively in front of the Vampire she had led home. Mikaela simply points at the table of the things he and Kota had stolen from Ferid.

"I don't think you understand, he's seen all we've done. They will kill us for this and that will be the end of it all."

Everyone in the room turns towards the door in silence as I step into our home. I was about to throw oil onto the kindling.

"What the hell are you guys shouting about? What happened to keeping a..."

I stop speaking as I catch sight of the tallest individual in the room. His hood was down and he quickly averted his eyes in shame. Another Vampire and he looked... bashful?

What was even more amazing was the loot strewn across the table. The spoils of Mika's dinner party was apparently more bountiful than I could have ever imagined.

"You idiot! Both of you have really done it this time! You can't trust Vampires, they get a sadistic pleasure from..."

"Listen Mikaela, it's time to sit aside your personal feelings and focus on the big picture. Your misgivings towards Vampires doesn't change the fact that we need them just as much as they need us. Chihiro has the right idea because we won't be leaving unscathed by our own merit."

He blinks in confusion as I forcefully cut him off as Shimura appears in the doorway behind me. She quickly pulls back her hood to straighten her hair.

"How could you expect any of us to trust these two? Look around so that you can see, it's clear who is good and who is bad here."

My eyes narrow in anger and I take a step further into the room. My anger quickly dissipates into surprise as Shimura places a hand on my shoulder. She shakes her head and closes the door behind her before standing in front of me.

"My name is Makoto Shimura, I have been friends with Yuichiro for three years. While your skepticism is healthy in nature, it is unfounded in this instance. I have no reason to betray any of you, and neither does he. It is through Yuichiro that I learned that humans and Vampires are perhaps not so different. Therefore I will help you all escape, even at the cost of my place in Vampire society. I don't want your friendship and I think the feeling is mutual, but you are important to Yuu so you are also important to me."

She extends her arm towards Mikaela and keeps her usual stoic expression in place. He stares at her gloved hand for several moments before taking the hand. I breathe a sigh of relief as the tension in the room drops considerably.

"Now that we are on the same page, we need to pool resources. Shimura and I took quite a bit of time devising an evolving plan."

I spread the large sheet of paper across the table and everyone in the room crowds around curiously. 'Hyakuya' was clearly written across the top.

"Why did you two decide to name it after the orphanage?"

"It's really quite simple, after factoring in our current situation and future endeavors we came up with an estimation. One of the procedures involves helping everyone here learn to read and write in Japanese. This plan ensures that we escape from Sanguinem is 100 nights or less."

* * *

x


	2. ESA 2

**AN: Welcome back to my story, this chapter is more exposition. The actual beginning of escape will probably happen next chapter.**

* * *

x

* * *

 **Part 1: Ambivalence**

 **[The state of having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone]**

 _Hyakuya residence January 23, 2012 7:30 A.M._

* * *

Mikaela ran through the back alleys and darkened corridors of inner Sanguinem in a desperate panic. The city so usually full of stoic vigor was now deathly silent with the only sounds being his own ragged breath and his feet against concrete.

The building he passed just moments before explodes in a shower of powdery debris and he is unable to stop himself from looking back. She appears from the carnage with a grisly smile on her face.

The smile on her face was that of a cat playing with the already doomed mouse. He forces himself to turn away and tries to increase the distance between each of his strides.

His efforts are cut short as a black chain wraps around right ankle. He gets another step before she yanks and viciously starts dragging him back the way he had come.

Mikaela was on the verge of panicking already, trying to untangle the chain from his ankle. He doesn't make any headway though and winces as she lifts him into the air by his neck.

There was no way this could be real and yet there were details here he hadn't seen himself. Her weapon hadn't been present during dinner and she hadn't done much other than eat and return to sleep. Now there was an all-black scythe strung across her back.

Her peculiar green eyes stare at him with such a sudden sense of disinterest that he wasn't sure how to respond. The sides of her lips curl up into a smile before she reveals her fangs.

"You will show me it... you will show me true despair before you die..."

Mikaela struggles in vain, both hands squeezing her wrist as she lunges forward. The world goes dark and the last thing he feels is her fangs sinking into his neck.

* * *

Mikaela awakens with a strangled scream, clutching his neck with both hands. His mouth closes slowly as he realizes nothing he had seen was real. No blood or fang marks were on his neck.

He pants softly and grips his forehead with one hand. Akane peeks up into the loft from the ladder with a concerned expression on her face.

"Akane... I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

"The tossing and turning did a while ago... you had me worried for a moment there. Are you ok? You must have been having some dream to have you this rattled."

Mikaela suddenly becomes somber again as a vivid image of her visage appeared before his eyes. Her only words in the nightmare send chills down his spine. It felt so real.

 _Show me your truest despair..._

He shakes his head to forcibly dislodge the memory and rubs the sleep from his eyes. Even after trying to sleep in the nightmare had managed to make sure he didn't sleep soundly all through the night.

"I'm fine and you should be sleeping."

"I got some sleep last night and besides Yuu-chan said that there would be no need for any of us to be active at night anymore. We actually have a fighting chance if we put our heads together!"

She begins to retreat down the ladder and Mikaela follows with quiet sigh. As he climbs down the ladder after her he absentmindedly runs his fingers through his hair while trying not to sound angry.

"You know we can't trust the Vampires, Akane... that Vampire is using him for his blood. She doesn't care about Yuu."

"Isn't it the same for us though? I think Yuu cares about her, but everyone else just wants her abilities. In the end we are no better than the Vampires are we Mika?"

His expression darkens and Akane could sense something sinister coming from him. She frowns in response and blinks in surprise as his stomach grumbles. She points towards the table with a stern expression.

"Is it so wrong that I want us to escape without dying? I want us all to live, not like this but I want us to live. If we die, then that means that it was all for nothing... can't you see that?"

After Mikaela takes the seat on the opposite side of the table she pushes a bowl of curry his way for breakfast. She sits a bowl down in her place before sitting.

"I had nightmares every night when we first arrived here... I don't know if you remember. The lack of sleep along with the blood loss was making me sick. That was around the time Yuu came up with the rotating donation system so that I didn't have to donate as much. He was even willing to give more of his blood to get something to read to me. I remember he was terrified of the thought, but he did it for me... and now he's doing this for us, Mika. He's doing it for all of us this time. He told me that he wasn't afraid to risk it all for even a glimmer of freedom... he said it was something truly worth fighting for. It gave me hope then and it still does now... I want you to believe in that hope too."

She reaches out across the top of the table and places her hand over Mikaela's. He stares down at their connected hands for a moment before a smile appears on his face.

"Maybe you're right after all... if we are going to do this we need to be careful. I would rather not lose any of my family... especially you or Yuichiro."

"So that settles it then, Mika we are going to throw our support behind their plans! While they do their part we need to start informing other trustworthy humans that our escape is at hand!"

Mikaela digs into his curry and takes a bite, trying to recall the rest of the discussion from last night.

"What did Yuu call it? Operation Hyakuya?"

* * *

 **Part 2: Conspiracy**

 **[A secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful]**

 _Sanguinem Administrative Archive building 8:02 A.M._

* * *

The entire library was an absolute mess compared to its normal appearance. Handwritten notes were strewn across the room along with a fair share of books. Makoto had been working nonstop all night including new details and information into the escape plan.

At the present time Makoto attentively flipped through an orange textbook with another open notebook beside her. Her nose twitches as Nagare enters the library from the loft above with a tray of tea.

"I followed your specifications to the letter. Not sure how it turned out though."

"It smells perfectly fine from this distance. I think you did a bang up job."

She picks her own cup up and blows on the contents slowly.

"Your eyes have been glued to that strange book since you retrieved it hours ago. I also noticed that it was transcribed in Japanese kanji... I am unfamiliar with it."

"It is science textbook, probably used in a class before the apocalypse. I was using it for reference to either approve or disprove the plan first put forward by Yuichiro. It appears the skeleton of his plan is solid. All that needs to be done it add to it."

Nagare nods slowly and deliberately, trying to drink the tea he created. The drink burns his bottom lip without hesitation and he frowns. The pain was nowhere near agonizing and he tries again, burning his tongue. He finally sits the cup down with a sigh.

"I don't think this tea is for me, the discomfort it brings is quite troublesome. On another more important, I am a minor member of the patrol teams that guard Sanguinem. While I am relatively low on the ladder I can possibly provide information or assistance not known publically."

She looks up from the textbook and chuckles lightly to herself. She looks back down but speaks in voice that was clearly meant to address him.

"Take a deep breath into your lungs and blow gently across the top."

He looks at her with confusion scrawled across all his features.

"Excuse me?"

She looks up at him again and gestures towards the abandoned tea cup. She then picks her own cup up and brings it under her nose.

"When drinking freshly made tea blow across the top... first breathe in. Once you do that refrain from gulping the tea, remember that it's not blood... sip it in increments."

While Nagare makes a second attempt at drinking the tea he prepared Makoto closes the textbook. She threads her fingers together as he finally begins to enjoy his tea correctly.

"Forgive me for overlooking the fact that you might have invaluable information, I will give you the rundown. It's rather simple, Yuichiro wants to bring as many humans with him as possible. If too many humans went missing, then every Vampire would be right on our tails and we would perish. Therefore, a diversion is necessary. The chemical process of burning will consume oxygen and since this city is underground it will become hostile very quickly. While this is going on the humans and us along with them shall escape through the network of sewer tunnels. The tunnels lead to a water treatment plant operated by the Vampires. Once we reach it then we can use the weapons taken from Ferid Bathory to overpower the Vampires running the facility."

He takes another sip from his cup as she continues speaking. As he sits his cup back down he waits patiently for her to finish speaking.

"The plan is good but there are a couple factors that weren't addressed. The Vampires have a reservoir down here full of fresh, clean water that can also be used to put out fires. Once the fires are out the ventilation system can filter out the remaining toxic smoke."

Nagare looks up in surprise as Makoto records his every word on a note pad.

"Operation Hyakuya is an easily modified plan, all I have to do is include the things you just mentioned. I wasn't aware Sanguinem had a ventilation system. In any event the system will become negligible if we can get rid of the excess water prior to our escape. In fact, setting the system to max settings would increase the intensity of the flames."

Nagare had been quick to gulp down the remainder of his lukewarm tea as she spoke.

"The only other problem is that you didn't take the human body into account. The temperature outside is already inhospitable and the risk of hypothermia reaches its zenith. The nearest human city is over three hundred miles away. The chances of running into JIDA forces this close to Kyoto are abysmally low. I also didn't want to say it, but this is entrapment... Ferid hasn't made any announcements about the theft."

Makoto hangs in her head in acknowledgment of defeat. Nagare looks down himself as the seconds tick by aimlessly. He nearly jumps back from where he stands as Makoto looks up with renewed vigor.

"I just had an idea. All we really need to do is hijack one of the operational antennae! We could then broadcast a signal to JIDA and that would allow us to avoid death from the cold. Whatever plan he was roping us into won't matter if we take this route though."

Nagare pulls out the chair to the table once again and takes a seat.

"Let's slow down and take this plan one step at a time. First we need to gain access to the ventilation system. I keep thinking about a way to get our hands on one of their antennae."

Makoto nods and stands without another word, her mind dead set on making the plan into a reality. She only made it a couple steps before Nagare calls out for her to hold on a moment.

She turns her hands automatically catching the object he tossed. The black box in her hands was unfamiliar and seemed light. She nearly drops it as static comes through its speaker.

"Keep this on you, I'll be with you every step of the way. Try not to die."

She nods in confirmation and turns to leave once again. Nagare extends the antenna on his radio and sits it to his immediate right.

 _No margin for error it seems._

* * *

 **Part 3: Encroachment**

 **[Intrusion of a person's territory, rights, etc.]**

 _8:00 P.M._

* * *

I had decided to give extra blood today despite having given yesterday. My reasoning was rather simple in nature, but I still needed to test the waters.

The Vampire technician on duty had his hands full filling out paperwork for special pills I would need. It had only been ten minutes and I could tell that I was wearing thin of his nerves.

"You do all the back breaking work all day, the precarious dealings with medicine. Then the sorting and categorizing of the blood siphoned. Not to mention keeping in mind the erratic allergies some Vampires develop. Meticulous micromanaging the storage and maintenance to keep the blood fresh, I don't know how you do it. All this blood being drawn and stored under your care, and you don't even get to drink a sip."

Despite his initial nonchalant behavior, my questions had finally gotten traction. The pen in his hand snaps into multiple pieces and without much warning and his entire body shakes. His lip curls back to reveal his fangs and he snarls in my direction with pure vitriol.

"To even suggest that I betray Lady Tepes or the nobility, the audacity you... _livestock_."

"You put a lot of stock in that word you Vampires like to use so much. What's next, you going to call yourself a butcher? You all seem to be hiding behind those titles... but I bet you haven't killed a thing in your life have you?"

His glare falters and his body goes completely rigid, but not with fear. I could feel his body temperature rising like a tide along with his anger underneath it all.

"You also jumped to way too many conclusions, I didn't say you should betray anyone. You're an intelligent Vampire, I know because they wouldn't let idiots handle _their_ blood. I bet they told you over and over again that you should feel grateful serving the Nobles and Progenitors of this great city. I bet they repeated it so many times that eventually you believed it yourself. You came to believe it so highly that you forgot that the Nobles and Progenitors have done nothing _for_ you."

"Shut up... shut up... shut up... Shut up, shut up, _shut up_!"

He two fists come down onto the terminal with more force than he could normally muster. The metal gives instantly and the circuits spark and explode. Smoke rises from the destroyed control terminal and warning sirens blare through the room.

He lifts his hands as the realization of what he had done in anger floods over him. The sudden burst of strength had only clouded his mind even further.

There were only two other technicians on duty and they were on the far side of the room. Just far enough away not to know what the sound they just heard was.

"I'm getting registry errors on my end, Sho!"

"I lost control in the middle of extraction, I need assistance!"

I turn and slide off the medical bed as he continues to stare at his bleeding hands. I had a feeling that all blood donation would be halted for tonight after his outburst.

I had taken no more than five steps before I toss my voice over my shoulder at him.

"Sate your desires on blood and that irritable feeling crawling underneath your skin will go away."

His eyes twitch with rage as I continue to walk away from him without looking back. For once it wasn't just his stomach growling with agitation. He brings his cut hands to his mouth and greedily drinks his own blood.

"There is a damaged terminal on my end, give me five minutes to reboot the system."

* * *

 _Four hours later_

* * *

Sho continued to work to fix the very machine he had destroyed earlier that evening. All the other technicians under his authority had already gone home for the day.

He stops as he realizes that there was only one piece that needed to be replaced in the machine. His lips curl back in anger as he removes the busted cog from the machine.

 _Damn livestock, did you really mean that I was but a cog in an old machine?_

He tosses the cog into the pile of damaged parts and installs a new one with slanted eyes. He stands back up from his kneeling position and dabs at his forehead with a handkerchief.

He clenches his fist around the handkerchief as his stomach rumbles a violent reminder that payday was a whole two days away.

He closes the port to the terminal and boots the system back up manually. The pain was becoming so intense that his thoughts were becoming incoherent. Why was this happening to him? He had always served loyally for the last ten years of his life. Never questioning and always adhering.

 _Was I wrong?_

He sinks his nails into his palms to gain traction back in reality and makes his decision. The total amount of blood in stock went down by precisely one liter on the monitor.

He then shuts down the program and strides across the room towards the freezers. He forcefully opens the doors with a lout band and descends into the cold.

He grabs a glass on the way, the smell of blood overwhelming his nostrils. The blood stored recently was still unfrozen and he quickly began to drain it into the glass.

The excruciating pain and hunger disappeared the moment the blood entered his mouth. He chugged down the glass quickly and his brain went into autopilot. He drank until his stomach was comfortably full, feeling less like a glutton with each glass.

The shaking of his limbs ceases and his eyes refocus as the world became clear around him. Deep down inside he knew that going back to starving was an impossibility.

* * *

 **Part 4: Intelligence**

 **[The collection of information of military or political value]**

 _8:22 P.M._

* * *

Makoto trudged through the knee deep snow, completely unfazed by the low temperatures. Compared to the din of Sanguinem the ambient sounds of night on the surface were deafening.

She immediately stops walking at about a thousand paces from the exit of Sanguinem. She takes a deep breath of cold night air to make sure that she was alone.

She then reaches into her cloak for the handheld radio Nagare had loaned her. She turns the transceiver on holds down the correct button.

"Nagare this is Makoto, I'm above Kyoto now but I'm going to need some other information. All I'm seeing is... an abandoned city."

"There are hundreds of vents that surround the city and pump in fresh air. The main ventilation unit is the backbone which supplies the air to those vents. It will be large and more than likely self-sufficient with occasional maintenance. That said though it's unlikely that they would leave it unguarded, keep your eyes open for Vampires permanently assigned there."

She nods and processes the information as quickly as possible. She secures the 2nd-class crossbow squarely onto her back and pulls the neck of her cloak above her nose.

She takes off in a dead sprint towards the nearest building and doesn't break stride. The bottom of her feet make contact and she easily scales the building.

She lands in a pile of snow on top of the building. She quickly escapes the dune and begins to dust herself off before she lost any more body heat.

"Your breathing just changed, are you ok?"

She doesn't answer and takes another running start across the roof of the building. When she reaches the very edge the roof underneath her breaks apart so that she could sail through the air.

Time seemed to slow down as she reached the apex of her flight before doing a barrel roll onto the next rooftop. She pauses this time and brings the radio to her mouth.

"I just saw a patrol on the street below."

"Follow them."

One look into the group of four Vampires told her all she needed to know. Three were patrol officers like Nagare, but the last one dressed in a white garb. He was a City Guard, in other words a Noble.

"I can't win in a fight with these guys, ones a City Guard."

"Those are definitely the Vampires we are looking for. All you need to do is wait for a lapse in their attention. Once we gain access to the ventilation system we can move forward."

She climbs the ledge of the building and follows them silently. They seemed to be moving further and further away from the entrance to Sanguinem and deeper into the city.

After five minutes of tailing the group splits into individuals all going in different directions. She looks at the mall once before deciding to keep pace with the City Guard.

His expression doesn't change as he treks through the snow, hood covering his eyes. Suddenly he stops moving in the middle of a snow covered lot. He pauses and looks around in all directions. Her eyes widen as the snow in front of him shifts and a cub rises from the snow.

She holds the radio directly to her mouth as the Vampire turns back to the cub. The other patrol officer Vampires appear from different directions and salute the City Guard.

"Nagare... I'm pretty sure I found it."

The City Guard bangs on the side of the cube twice and it begins to lower back into the snow. The group begins the slow trek out of the lot just as the cube disappears without a trace.

* * *

 **Part 5: Japanese Imperial Demon Army**

 **[JIDA]**

 _12:36 P.M._

* * *

One of the 4 Horsemen of John roars somewhere off in the far distance. No doubt a confrontation with one in the dark would all but lead to decimation of the company.

The company of soldiers were essentially a hundred kilometers from the largest Vampire city in all of Japan. The soldiers here were a part of a division given the task of reclaiming resources from city districts all over Japan.

The Apocalypse Virus had consumed more than just humans in its destructive path. Most animals were driven mad by the virus and even plants began to disappear.

"Aihara, can you see anything from down there?

"The street looks clear from down here; do you have eyes on that Horsemen?"

On the rooftops above a single soldier leaps the distance between the building a block over before coming to a stop. He peers of the edge, his black compound bow in one hand.

He reflexively holds in his gag reflex at the sight of two Horsemen devouring the corpse of a third.

"Proceed forward, just some delightful cannibalism... nothing to see here."

Aiko signaled the company on the ground that everything was clear and took off in a sprint. The men behind her followed without question, dashing after her across the blacktop.

On the rooftops above the archers began to jump from roof to roof as quietly as possible in pursuit. As she reaches the next intersection she flattens herself up against a building in response to the ground rumbles.

A yellow Horsemen slowly ambles by clearly full and satisfied. Aiko quickly unfurls the map given to her along with her mission directive. She reaches down for her radio to get a hold of the other commanding officer in the company.

"Corporal, the map indicates that a train station is near this location. Perhaps we should hold up there for the night, the only thing we've seen around here are the 4 Horsemen of John."

The static crackles for a moment and the Horsemen ignores it completely. After another five seconds it disappears around the block. His voice finally plays through the radio with a sigh of relief.

"Alright men, you heard the lady we are going to secure Higashi-Maizuru Station."

She peeks around the corner of the building, one arm ordering the men to stay put. Once she clears it she signals for them to follow as she goes into another sprint.

This dash took them through an exposed square, but it was the only way to do this and not take excessive amounts of time. So far things looked clear and they hadn't been spotted by a Horsemen.

Suddenly their world was turned upside down as the ground just ahead of her exploded in a shower of debris. One of the blue 4 Horsemen of John rises from the hole roaring a challenge.

"Scatter soldiers and take positions for attack pattern Omega! This is a class 4 Horsemen do not engage it directly, I repeat do _not_ engage until _my_ signal!"

She leaps up and backwards as the area she was once stood was melted down by acidic bile. She lands in a crouch ten meters away with a green arrow already in the quiver of her bow.

She stands back up to her full height and fires the arrow, hoping it had never encountered an archer before. The ground quakes as the Horsemen dashes to the side and easily avoids the arrow, its mouth creasing in a grin.

Several of its limbs open in three-pronged tips that dig into the earth. A quick peripheral glance tells her that her men were already will hidden, it was time to fry this thing.

She loads another arrow as it tosses the first boulder directly at her. The arrow and boulder meet in the middle and the air is filled with chunks of rock. She kneels down onto one knee with her bow shielding her eyes as she tries to get a better look into the dust cloud.

"I don't get paid enough for this."

She grumbles halfheartedly and quickly tosses her bow into the air. The Horsemen barrels through her side of the dust cloud a moment later and Aiko makes her move with both hands free.

She does a single front flip and pushes off the tarmac with all the strength she has. She barely makes the air needed to clear the Horsemen and uses its back as a springboard, simultaneously grabbing her bow from the air.

The Horsemen was quick on the uptake rounding on its heels and already making another attempt of her life before she even touched down. On the other side of the street the Corporal raises his head from his hiding place and takes aim.

The arrow from his compound bow makes contact with its back, easily breaking through the tough skin. The Horsemen roars and turns to look in his direction with eyes filled with hate.

Two arrows appear in her quiver this time and she quickly fires at point blank range. The Horsemen roars as it receives the full weight of her Cursed Gear and she could only hope it was enough.

Her question is answered as a boulder is lobbed from the cloud directly at the Corporals nesting position. The man was quick to abandon his cover as the boulder tore through it.

The Horsemen crushes another of its boulder into smaller pieces and tosses them like shrapnel. It was taking out the threat that was further away.

She takes her eyes off the arm and cloud as the Corporal goes down after being hammered by the shards of stone. Several wounds to his chest send him onto his back.

A second appendage emerges from the cloud in her lapse of attention and this time there was no time to dodge. She holds her bow in front of herself but knew it wasn't enough.

 _Well at least the company can still continue the mission. Lance Corporal Nanami, I leave the mission in your hands._

She barely registers the footsteps behind her until a black sword vetoes the movement of the serrated appendage. A private had left hiding and put his life at risk to save her.

"Fool! I told you not to leave your position!"

"As if any order was gonna make me watch you die Sergeant!"

The three-pronged appendage closes with surprising pressure and easily punctures his sides around his sword. The private grunts in pain and twists his sword into the Horsemen's arm. Like a cut finger the beast roars and backs away bleeding.

The private drops to one knee as blood gushes from his open wound. She looks from the wound to the Horsemen who had finally got its head back on straight. She points her bow into the air and releases a single arrow high into the sky.

At the zenith of its flight it explodes and bathes the entire block in green light. All over the street soldiers loaded arrows into their bows and prepared to fire when the light disappeared.

"Ten seconds to get away from the Horsemen or become a battle statistic. Let's move Private!"

She shoulders some of his weight and they immediately try to put some distance between themselves and the horsemen. He was too heavy to carry and they weren't out of the kill zone just yet.

She turns her head slightly at the sight of another soldier who disobeyed orders and was now in the kill zone. He slides directly underneath the distracted horsemen and takes one of its four legs with one swing of his battle axe.

He puts even more energy into his stride and lifts the injured private bridal style. Aiko without needing to support him breaks into a sprint as well as the light begins to disappear from the sky.

The roaring of the injured 4 Horsemen of John is drowned about the whizzing of a hundred arrows soaring through the air. Even while showered with arrows the Horsemen struggles forward and towards them.

They don't stop running up they reach the nearest building and Aiko immediately takes aim. Across the street she could see the Corporal conscious again and aiming at the beast.

They would see an end to this.

She looks deep into the eyes of the injured Horsemen and releases the explosive arrow. It was only for a moment... but she swore she could see something deep in its eyes.

* * *

x

* * *

 **So tell me, did you like the fight scene?**

 **Did you hate it?**

 **Do you hate it so much you like it or vice versa?**

 **Did you catch the reference in Part 5 to the first opening of the anime to Seraph of the End?**


	3. ESA 3

_**AN: Welcome back to the next installation of my story, I'm going to continue to tie up loose ends from here.**_

* * *

x

* * *

 **In case any readers were confused, here is some pertinent information:**

 _ **[]**_

 _ **Makoto Shimura- The Vampire Yuichiro initially befriended, and is technically unemployed. She is a scholarly Vampire who has spent most of her days learning about new things.**_

 _ **Nagare Muro- The Vampire Chihiro initially befriended, he is one of the many individual Vampires assigned to patrol the city under City Guard jurisdiction. He has permission to leave the city as he pleases.**_

 _ **Sho Tetsuya- He is the head blood technician for all of Sanguinem, all blood in the city goes through his hands first. He has unparalleled knowledge in medicine and narcotics.**_

 _ **Crispin Stoker- An important Vampire not mentioned in this chapter. He is a Section Commander for the patrolling parties who works in tandem with City Guards.**_

* * *

x

* * *

 **Part 1: Sadism**

 **[** **The tendency to derive pleasure, especially sexual gratification, from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on others; Deliberate cruelty** **]**

 _1:46 A.M._

* * *

Makoto had cleared away a thick layer of snow from the roof she was on and had flattened herself to the ground to watch the lot. The patrols were frequent but so far only one of the Vampires had actually looked at the unit.

She counted three separate patrols in total with three members in two and five in the third. They were vigilant by she could see the tiredness seeping into their limbs. The cold biting air had to be getting to them by now.

Her eyes begin to droop with drowsiness as neared her limits. Her eyes snap back open at the sound of crunching snow and a tired sigh. The patrols had all returned and were now in the process of starting a bonfire.

She yawns silently into her hand and changes her position from prone to kneeling. The only City Guard in the group gives several orders she couldn't make out and takes a sitting position up against a building. After several minutes his breathing slows down to a nearly nonexistent rise and fall.

"Nagare, I've found my opening. There isn't any time to wait to see if it sticks. I'm going now."

She grips the lip of the building and vaults over the edge in one movement. She sinks her fingers into the rotting wood of on its side on the way down to slow her descent. She releases the building at the end and gracefully lands in the snow bank.

The light generated by the bonfire grew steadily in the dead of night. One of the patrolling Vampires turns around at the sound of her hitting the snow. He stares with tired scrutinous eyes for several long seconds before turning back to the fire.

She darts out of the snow bank and into the nearest shadow. She glances at the one City Guard, still fast asleep. He was motionless from her perspective, hood drawn over his eyes.

She pauses and leaves the shadow in a jog moving away from the bonfire. She was out of visual range in the dark in only a few second and slides the last of the way.

Unlike with the City Guard, the hatch didn't open as she crouched before it. She brushes the fresh snow away until the metallic doors came into view.

"How's it coming, Shimura?"

"I can't get the unit to open."

"I doubt it uses a motion sensor. There is some physical component to open it, keep looking."

She tucks the radio back into her cloak and starts brushing even more snow out of the way. The metal surface had been uniform for as far as she could see. There was no way that she would miss something different.

Her hands catch what her eyes completely missed, a seam between the metal and a molded piece of plastic. She pushes her fingers into the split and pulls the hidden lever back.

The ground in front of her seemed to hiss and the snow falls into the now opening hatch. She takes a small step backwards as the main ventilation unit rises up from the darkness.

She brushes the snow off her sleeves as the machine comes to a halt. She runs her hand over the cool surface and reaches into her cloak for the radio.

"Nagare, I got it come up. I just need to change the settings."

She nearly jumps back as the machine interface unlocks. A keyboard and monitor appearing before her. She frowns as ten horizontal bars appear on the blue screen.

"We might have a problem, the system required a password for me to do anything. It's ten digits long, I would need days to brute force this."

* * *

"Damn it... you're right... we don't have the time or resources. We should call it quits. Get out of sigh-"

Nagare stops talking into the radio and chills crawl up his spine. His heart speeds up at a sudden pounding at the door. He sits the radio down ignoring the concerned voice of Shimura on the other side of the line.

The pounding on the door to the building continues as he draws closer. The smells in the room were overwhelming his senses, he couldn't tell who was on the other side.

He stops just before the door and places his palm on the door.

"Who's there?"

"It's Yuichiro, can I come in?"

The Vampire sighs in relief and immediately unlocks the door from the inside. He opens the door immediately and smiles thinking himself silly for worrying.

"I'm glad it's you who came knocking, I had the most ominous feeling. I'm not sure what it was now but it's a weight off."

His facial expression quickly changes to one of horror as a Vampire appears in the doorway behind me. He restrains me easily and surges forward into the building in the time it took to bare his fangs. Nagare barely had time to make any noise before he was nearly bisected at the waist.

He crumbles to the flood in a heap and the intruder steps over his dismembered body. He restricts my airway and I was already beginning to see stars, I heard him chuckle before finally losing consciousness.

* * *

Makoto continues to whisper harshly into the now silent radio. Nagare had stopped speaking suddenly and hadn't returned to the radio yet. Suddenly she hears rustling on the other end of the line.

"I'm sorry, he won't be able to return to the radio. He's a bit preoccupied.

"Please don't kill them..."

Ferid Bathory smiles into the radio and strolls around the room without a care in the world. Nagare is slumped up against a bookcase, blood pooling around him.

He slowly lifts up the map stolen from his estate from the only table in the library. He almost frowns at how none of this was making sense.

"Ones bleeding out at this very moment. His wounds don't seem to be healing. Anyway I wondered why the map was stolen and yet no one tried to escape the city. Why do you think that is?"

She had never felt so useless, so far from her home and yet so close to a milestone. Somehow she didn't think getting back out here so easily again anytime soon.

"So which is it? Continue forward or return to the beginning to save a life? Live or die misses... live or die?"

She closes her eyes in concentration for a moment as everything seemed to fall apart around her. She wouldn't beg but there had to be some other way around this. Then something came into her mind, something so stupid it might actually work.

"Coward."

Suddenly the grin fell from his face and anger clouded his gaze. The Radio groaned under the strength of his grip.

"What did you say?"

She struggled not to gulp in fear at his suddenly icy tone. Projecting her voice confidently despite shaking in fear. The antagonism seemed to be working.

"I always knew our chances were low but apparently they were high enough to make you cautious. Sure, you could end it all here, but it just highlights your cowardice."

"You dare insult my character wench. I shall have your head for that."

She takes another deep breath to calm the beating in her chest. She switches the radio to her other hand and leans her back up against the ventilation unit.

"This is a game to you, you find the weak struggling amusing We can play that game too, we could even offer you the challenge of a lifetime. I guarantee we won't be easy opponents. Let's keep playing Lord Ferid... unless of course you fear you might lose to mere common Vampires?"

There was silence on the end of her radio as Makoto waited in fear of his response. She heard him grind his fangs into the molars on his lower jaw.

"The password to the ventilation system is 'immortality'. I don't know what you plan to do with it and I don't care. This will be the greatest tragedy for livestock as I take everything you hold dear."

She could hear the vitriol in his tone as the radio turned off form his end. She quickly turned back to the ventilation system and entered in the password he had given. The system accepts it and she turns the power to its maximum level.

 _Mission accomplished._

* * *

 **Part 2: Seraphim**

 **[An angelic being, regarded in traditional Christian angelology as belonging to the highest order of the ninefold celestial hierarchy, associated with light, ardor, and purity]**

* * *

The last thing I remembered before passing out was the tight grip constricting my airway and the horror on his face. Then I knew nothing at all.

As unconsciousness took me I was forced onto a path to place where there could be no pain. I plummeted into the abyss of darkness all alone in the world. The sensation of falling was almost peaceful in comparison to what my days normally were.

I woke up again in a desolate grey desert that seemed to stretch on forever in all directions. What might have seemed frightening years earlier now seemed like a great place to just curl up and disappear in silence.

The sand was neither cold nor hot and the sky seemed to be a dreary grey color. I stand slowly, dusting the sand from my back as I take another sweeping look around.

In the distance I could faintly see the black outline of something in contrast with the grey sand. It was much too far away to even begin to guess what I was looking at. I found myself walking towards the black outline without even thinking about it.

The closer I inched the more nervous I became as it became apparent that it wasn't a rock. It was humanoid and looked to be surrounded by its own black wings.

Where the wings didn't cover his body I could make out a coal black robe. I felt as though I'd swallowed something extremely hot at this moment because my chest burned. It felt like the world was spinning around me.

I touched my chest where my heart was and jumped as my hands closed around something metallic. I open my eyes to see a black iron chain protruding from inside my chest. I yank on it instinctively and the pain intensifies causing me to momentarily black out.

I land in the sand on my ass, unable to take my eyes off the chain. I stop moving as the chain jangles causes me to look up again. The man was now looking directly with yellow eyes. My mouth hangs open at the sight of the same chain in his own chest.

"Remove your hands from the chain you imbecile."

I immediately release the chain from my gasp and the man turns away again. I quickly noticed that there were more chains on his body than just the one that connected us. There were a pair on his wrists and another on his ankles.

"Hello, I apologize for bothering you. Where are we exactly?"

The man remains motionless and completely ignores me. If I hadn't seen him move moments ago I could easily believe he was statue erected in the desert. There was no rise and fall of his chest, neither one of us needed to breath here.

I take a reluctant step towards him, mindful of the sensitive chain protruding from my chest. I dust off my shirt nervously as he continues to stare off into the distance.

"A place that is nowhere, and yet... everywhere you shall ever go."

"What the heck does that even mean? ... and what are you exactly?"

His head snaps back to look at me yet again, his gaze empty. The wings surrounding his body unfurl and suddenly the answer to my question seemed obvious. My perception of him changed even further as four sets of wings emerged from underneath the first.

He slowly begins to levitate into the air without the need to move his wings. The air around us begins to pick up in a swirling wind as he nears the end of his chains.

"I am being that transcends all things of this Earth, the only above me is the lord and our savior. I am the King of Salt, Seraph, and of the highest celestial hierarchy."

Suddenly his ascension stops just before the chains can pull taut and he clutches his chest. He comes crashing back down into the sand as if reality had finally taken hold.

He violently coughs into his hand from his now crouched position. A black tarlike substance sprays from his lungs onto his hand and the sand at his feet. I was suddenly feeling sick to my stomach.

"You're an angel then? What's wrong with you and where the hell are we?"

"I have been tainted by the very sin I was tasked to cleanse. If I do not return home, then my body will fail completely..."

His breathing finally stabilizes and he leans back to look into the grey sky. He closes his hand around the sand beside him and raises a fist full to his lap.

"I would sometimes peer through your eyes in hopes of just a mere glimpse of the stars. I searched and searched but the stars never did reach me. I won't ever see them again, will I?"

"You mean the stars in the night sky, and you said that you looked through my eyes. You are chained and bound not just to the sand below but... to me..."

He closes his eyes in response to my words as if reality was all too much for him. Suddenly the turbulent motions left his heart and he stood back up to his full height. My heart froze after realizing how close I had gotten. He towered over me without even trying.

"The humans ensnared my mind and tore my body limb from limb. You then added onto your blackest sin by using what was left of my essence as something to make humans stronger. Oh what a failure it was. My only wish was to have seen Avantheim once more before I finally died."

The world of salt around us suddenly began to shake violently, his breathing evening out. The chains binding him to the salt and to me suddenly turned so salt and fell away.

His wings stretched out to their maximum span and cloudy sky began to clear. The stars were not above but instead an endless expanse of darkness that seemed to be swallowing everything into it.

"The world shall be bathed in a sea of conflagration and then drowned in a sea of salt. This is fate Humans, Vampires and Demons all share. The world will be born anew once again."

I struggled to elevate my voice over the winds now whipping past us. The salt was also in a frenzy, making it difficult to see anything. The only thing still telling me he was still there were his glowing yellow eyes.

"It doesn't have to be that way at all! It can't be the only way! Not everyone of this world is evil, can't you see it? Why destroy the whole world because people in it are bad? There are so many good things! Why don't you and I go see the stars... together!"

The eyes stare at me for several seconds before his voice easily cuts through the noise. The eyes disappear not a moment after and I was left in total darkness.

"I think not, the only thing you and I shall do is disappear together into the abyss."

* * *

 **Part 3: Prison**

 **[A building (or vessel) in which people are legally held as punishment for crimes they have committed or while awaiting trail]**

 _Two weeks later_

* * *

The news traveled up the grapevine of Sanguinem like the same fires we planned to set. Apparently several Vampires, including one Noble were now dead from blood poisoning. The city was in an uproar for all sorts of reasons.

The worker class was quietly protesting at the now quarantined Blood Bank. Well... they might have been protesting if the City Guards weren't watching them intently. The entire building was surrounded, there was much more sneering at the crowd than expected. Who would have thought there was such a disparity between Vampires?

The silence was smothering amongst the crowd, even across the bridge that led to the place. The news was unclear about how drinking blood could give a Vampire blood poisoning. Could a Noble really be killed by something so simple? If it were true it would be on our list of things to do before leaving this place. Even if we died.

My eyes stop on one Vampire who didn't appear anxious at all. His hood was down below his shoulders and his spine was completely straight. As if he was standing not for himself but for many people.

It had been a long time since I had seen that downtrodden mug. He fidgeted slightly as he stood in the crowd, was he nervous or possibly guilty? I couldn't be sure.

What I was sure of was that he was now drinking a steady supply of blood. His face was no longer shrunken and his body didn't look malnourished. The way he carried himself told the true story.

While our younger brothers and sisters waited at home I sat casually with Mikaela, Akane, Chihiro and Kota across from the Blood bank. The entire building was surrounded by City Guards while it was investigated.

"Come on guys, let's get a closer look."

Akane, Mikaela and Kota look at me strangely as I stand from the public bench and stride towards the gathered crowd. Akane is the first to snap out of it quickly begins to tail me.

The crowd parts for me in numb unison, like the river parts for a rock in its bed. I couldn't see their eyes but they all shared the same defeated look on their faces. Hunger in their souls and desperation sinking into their starving guts.

I stop behind the head technician who doesn't respond to my presence at all. The position of his head shifts upwards ever so slightly.

"Do you ever wonder if the current reality is the result of our own sins? Do we as individuals only have ourselves to blame for what comes our way?"

He finally acknowledges my presence with cold eyes that had never seen the sun. His tone was clipped and filled to the brim with sorrow. He was waiting for an answer I wasn't certain of myself.

"I want to know what your answer is. Why do you think bad things happen to good humans and Vampires? Do we not all bleed and suffer?"

"Bad things happen because this world is not just. It never really was to begin with, we were just good at ignoring it before weren't we?"

He turns away in silence after receiving my answer, Akane appears at my side moments later. Sho's gaze was now fixated on a City Guard who had broken the perimeter of the Blood Bank and was moving in our direction.

A few of the working class Vampires take tentative steps backwards in response to his presence. He stops five feet from the now deathly silent crowd and stares for a moment.

"Alright, enough of this passive-aggressive bullshit. I want this crowd dispersed immediately. Go home now and let it go... or I can make you."

He didn't even reach for his sword and most of the Vampires in the crowd were already turning to go. Sho stares at the City Guard intensely for a moment before finally giving in and retreating.

He pauses as he feels a firm hand on his shoulder stopping his forward movement. He turns to find himself face to face with the City Guard.

"Are you the lead technician Sho Tetsuya?"

Sho nods slowly in confirmation.

"Then I need you to come with me sir. I need you to bypass the security systems for the doors and vault inside the building. We could always get assistance from a Progenitor but we are trying not to waste their valuable time. Will you comply?"

"Of course."

He turns back to look directly at me for a moment before looking the City Guard in the eye. The Vampire with the higher status turns and begins a brisk pace back towards the building.

"Try not to die."

* * *

The electronic locks on the door opened immediately as Sho approached them. Several more groups of Vampires join him on him on his way into the building.

While he stops at his master terminal the other Vampires continue on towards the blood storage chambers. The City Guard stops at his terminal and hands him a separate keycard.

"My card will give you clearance to open up the vault at the back of storage chamber. You know the system best, make sure the doors stay open until we finish."

The City Guard continues on without waiting for his response. He plugs his own card into the system and the steel doors protecting the freshest blood swing open.

He removes his own keycard and inserts the other into the terminal. The screen flashes for several moments before a circular door appears he had never seen before.

 _So this is the vault._

He twists the City Guard's key and the door begins to slowly rotate. The Vampires standing in front of it back up as its inner workings come undone. Sho immediately goes to remove the key when something else catches his eye.

He scrolls away from the live camera feed to something else with a name in Japanese. This was peculiar indeed.

"I can't read this gibberish..."

He selects the item in the system anyway and a directory opens in Japanese text. He presses the enter key again and ten segmented horizontal lines pop in front of his eyes.

 _What is this?_

" _A password is required beyond this point._ "

He nearly jumps out of his skin as the voice plays through the terminal. He didn't even know it could speak at all. He turns towards the opened doorway to the vault and prepares to exit the system when a thought occurs to him.

He pulls his own keycard out again and plugs it into the system alongside the second one. The screen flashes again for a few seconds before the voice speaks again.

" _Admin access granted, authorization complete. Welcome to Sanguine Carcerem._ "

The password dock fills itself out before his eyes, he made sure to memorize the password. The password then disappears in a flash and the floor underneath him jolts. He is tossed forward and grips the sides of the terminal and everything falls.

Maybe that was an exaggeration, the terminal and the floor was actually a lift. A docked elevator which was now hurtling downward too fast for his stomach to keep up. He braces himself for impact and the touchdown was as violent as he expected.

He is tossed face first onto the hard ground and he was sure he'd bruise later. He slowly forces himself into a crouch and gasps at the sight of pure red beneath his feet.

All around him the floor was transparent and a red liquid was just under it. He breathes out hard and in as deeply as possible, the tantalizing smell of blood filling his nostrils.

He grins to himself in excitement before the sound of a shifting body causes him to jump. He tilts his head up enough to the see the rows of cages lined up above the reservoir of blood. The nearest one gave him the most pause.

Two hands slowly grip the metal bars and a pair of red eyes stare at him from within the darkness. His eyes widen as the Vampire bares his fangs at him, his eyes glazed over completely.

 _This is... this is a... prison..._

* * *

 **Part 4: Demon**

 **[An evil spirit or devil, especially one thought to possess a person or act as a tormentor in hell]**

 _One Week Later_

* * *

Nagare winced in pain as Makoto assisted in moving him into a chair near the table. The hole in his stomach was still open but he had managed to regenerate the stomach from dismembered pieces.

"You ought to be resting, Nagare, you barely managed to regenerate the stomach and its lining. If the stomach were to rupture we wouldn't be able to save you."

"He's right to keep pushing forward, were all running out of time. He needs blood to heal the wound fully, we get that but most of us are running on empty. We can't keep up with regular _and_ samaritan donations."

She scowls at Mikaela who had spoken from across the room. He kept his back firmly to her in case she did glower at him. Nagare grunts to draw her attention away from the younger human.

"He could say it in a nicer tone, sure, but he's absolutely right. We need to keep up appearances, I can't return to work like this. In a few days the Nobles will drop by to inquire about my absence. The injury should net me some modicum of compensation."

I drop down gently from the second floor of the library with tea, my mood souring at his attitude. I was prepared to drop so long as the conversation ended there.

"I doubt it."

I slam the tray of tea down onto the table prompting Mikaela to shut his mouth.

"Mikaela, I'm not asking to become friends with anyone. I'm asking to you respect the people working towards our escape. Can you please call a truce until we get out?"

He turns to scowl at me for a moment before someone rings the buzzer to the administration building. The entire Hyakuya family was already here and Shimura had been here overseeing Nagare's recovery.

Whoever was at the door now wasn't a part of our group. Makoto wondered if it was Ferid tired of waiting and ready to finish the job. She swivels her head to look at every person in the room with her finger over her lips.

She lowers her hand and glides across the room to the ladder leading to the loft. She takes the entire distance in a jump and presses the button for the intercom.

"This is private property, who is this?"

"Don't play coy with me, Shimura, this is Sho Tetsuya. I wish to speak with Yuichiro at once. I've come alone."

The electronic locks on the door click as he was allowed entry into the building. He pulls the door open with the tips of his fingers and pushes it the rest of the way with his foot.

The door shuts with a resounding boom as he hobbled through the foyer of the building. Dozens of pairs of eyes watch him cautiously from places all over the room.

He ignores the stares and proceeds deeper in the library before stopping at the table. He sits the heavy cooler on the table and a thick file on the table by it. He then loosens the collar on his shirt before taking a seat himself.

Makoto jumps down from the loft and appears behind him menacingly. He loosens the neck of his shirt without an ounce of fear on his face.

"What do you want?"

"I made several discoveries in the past week, and learned of things I would rather not have seen. I'm willing to share them with you, but in return you all need to give me an out."

Makoto looks at Nagare who was subtly shaking his head no and then back at Sho. She overrules his thoughts and nods slowly in affirmation. He taps on the side of the black cooler he had brought with him.

Sho stands from his seat and enters a password in the black cooler. Several tubes protrude from the top, white smoke billowing from them. This was just about the amount of blood the average Vampire earned in a year.

"I suggest using the feeding tube, otherwise he runs the risk of disconnecting the esophagus from the stomach."

Nagare opens his mouth wide in anticipation as she grabs the feeding tube. He twists the nozzle on the cooler, causing some blood from the first cylinder to drain.

"Alright Tetsuya, you have our attention. Let's talk escape."

* * *

It was both morbid and magical watching his body heal his grievous wounds in seconds. Half a cylinder of blood was gone but Nagare was back on his feet and stretching. It was almost like the wounds had never been there, no scarring to be seen.

"Let me make sure I understand you correctly. You discovered an isolated prison below Sanguinem from a lift inside the Blood Bank. A lift you believe was installed by the guy who had the position before you. This guy... whatever his name was..."

"Choseki. His name was Choseki Kawasaki. He was a part of Sanguinem nobility and head technician before me. I'm guessing the knowledge he obtained would be detrimental if it ever got out to the city above."

The silence in the room following his words was broken as a tea cup shattered against the stone floor. Everyone turned to the source of the noise to see me staring off in space.

Shimura reaches my side in the next instant and shakes me lightly. I don't respond and my eyes begin to glow a putrid yellow color. His mentioning the prison had brought back memories from the time I had spoken with the Seraph inside me.

The words that left my mouth next were not my own but came from deep within. The pitch of my voice changed and distorted as the words flowed faster.

"That prison where the hopeful go to languish in a cesspool of their own suffering. Their very souls will blacken and their minds will fill with hatred and loathing. Those who succumb to these feelings become malignant Demons... mere shells of their former selves. A Demon powered by such dark emotions can then easily be sealed into a weapon for personal gain."

Shimura and the rest of my family stare at me in horror as I am overcome with laughter. As if everything said previously was humorous at all.

My eyes begin to dim and I lose consciousness several moments later. The same distorted laughter kept repeating itself in my mind until everything faded away into nothingness.

* * *

 **Part 5: Solace**

 **[Comfort or consolation in a time of distress or sadness]**

 _One Month Later_

* * *

The tension had been building in Sanguinem for the last month. The number of blood poisoning cases had been on the rise and so far no official word had been given as to why it was happening... and what would be done to stop it.

The only thing keeping the city from openly rioting was the increased presence of City Guards. Unless an official statement was given by Krul Tepes soon, then even the increased military presence wouldn't be enough.

All the better for their plight though, she was in the best shape of her life thanks to the blood from Sho. All the anger and hate circulating through the city made it easy to slip in and out during the day.

It had been a month long project and had actually cost her money in black market parts but it was finally bearing fruit. Nagare had informed her that JIDA soldiers were operating in regions all over Japan despite only having three cities near Shibuya. With that knowledge in mind she had chosen a cell tower south of Kyoto in hopes of contacting them.

It had taken nearly a month, and long nights with just water and blood but she had done it. All she needed to do was get a missive to their commanding officer and she was certain the humans would come knocking. She banked on them being willing to fight to save other humans. She crossed her fingers every day.

She pulls her head from inside the main terminal of the tower and slams down her console on top. She turns several nobs and wipes sweat from her brow with a handkerchief. A reassuring breeze drifts by to cool her body down.

She adjusts the frequency with the central nob, crossing her fingers for static. After several long heartbeats for waiting an ugly static fills her ears. She lifts the transceiver to her mouth.

* * *

Aiko pauses with an orange slice halfway to her mouth as her as a distorted voice emanates from her radio. She turns her head halfway to see the Corporal having a beer with a couple soldiers. The train station had been cleared nearly a month ago and patrols were done for the day.

So that meant it wasn't him, and everyone else was most certainly asleep for the night.

She lets out a defeated sign and fishes out her radio to answer the query. She supposed it was possible that something was going on inside the building. She pressed the button on the side and waits for the person on the other line to speak.

She hears clicking for a moment and then a women's voice.

"If you are successfully receiving this signal, please respond."

She frowns at what looked like another civilian hijacking a neutral cell tower for their own purposes.

"You are tuning into a restricted JIDA military frequency. This is a restricted frequency, get off this line immediately."

She was prepared to put away the radio when the voice returned in a harsh monotone. It seemed less human now and much colder.

"Listen carefully human, because I won't repeat this. I'm about to give you the offer of a lifetime. A chance to take livestock directly from the Vampire city of Sanguinem. If you have a map of Japan use it and go to the Kyoto Water Treatment Facility two days from now. The humans will be there waiting on you."

The signal disappears from her military frequency moments later. She stares at her radio silently and times seemed to be slowing down. The water treatment facility was a actually not that far from where they were holding up.

However she knew that the Corporal would probably tell her to disregard such a offer. Something like this was always a trap, she knew that. So what was this nagging feeling in the back of her mind?

Fear. Fear that it may be true and they could possibly pass up something so important. If this person who contacted her was really a Vampire, could they be trusted. Even if it wasnt a trap then why would a Vampire of all people betray their own kind to ask humans for help?

* * *

x

* * *

 _ **Yes I personified the Seraph inside Yuichiro, partially because I didn't want to just use it for a convenient hidden power for him to tap into. I'll be going into great details about that next chapter. Thank you for reading and stick around because the next installment our hero will finally see the stars. But what will be the price for seeing them again?**_


	4. Escape Sanguinem Arc Finale

_**AN: Welcome back to the next installation of my story, and the final chapter of the Escape Sanguinem Arc.**_

* * *

 _Warning: This chapter is extremely long more than triple the length of my normal chapters. I don't plan on doing it again until another finale is inbound. Enjoy._

* * *

x

* * *

 **Part 1: Lupophobia**

 **[An irrational fear of wolves and werewolves]**

 _One day from the great escape..._

* * *

Breakfast had been extravagant this morning, sandwiches built with not only meat but cheese too. While I took my time the younger children had all but scarfed theirs down with little chewing time. I couldn't exactly blame them for that either.

No matter how good it tasted, it didn't change the fact that my stomach was in turmoil. If not nothing went sideways we would be leaving sometime today. Nagare and Shimura had worked together to smuggle a flammable chemical substance down into the city from the surface. My greatest worry now was that it may have been an exercise in futility, because if she was caught they would most certainly kill her. It made me feel sick.

The noise bounced through our modest home a quarter past eight in the morning. It gave us all pause because it wasn't an everyday sound but a warning... a symbol of caution. An assembly, a beckoning call that was to always be answered and never to be ignored. Chiming bells that could reach anywhere in this vast city.

I stand up right away and brush the crumbs from my clothes. The others stared at me as I push the chair back into the table. I chewed the final corner of my sandwich robotically to keep the fear from showing on my face. I silently usher them towards the door, we shouldn't keep them waiting.

"Don't look so frightened young ones, we're going together. We're going to be alright. Nothing is going to happen to us."

I didn't believe it, and saying it aloud hadn't made it any realer to myself. The only saving grace were the looks of relief I received from the people who mattered most.

On the other hand, if Shimura had been caught, then this assembly would certainly be an execution. She would have forfeited her life for a cause destined to fall into ruin. What a mess this was turning out to be.

* * *

The younger Hyakuya children clung to my sides in palpable fear as we continued to marched towards the center of Sanguinem. We didn't travel alone either, walking amongst both Vampires and livestock alike. The Vampires didn't seem to know why they were being summoned any more than we did. I started counting my lucky stars.

My fears were from an entirely different species than those of people around me. Assuming this wasn't an execution for Shimura, then that meant she now had the perfect opportunity set the city ablaze. There was so much invested in the plan that it had finally come time to pay dividends.

The only thing I... no, we could do now was be patient and not call attention to ourselves. I now understand what she always meant when she said that death was not the worst thing that could happen. It was living on that brought the truest horror. Reality was the real nightmare and death was actually the long awaited peace. So I would trust the one with the potential to live forever with our exceedingly short lives.

My conflicted thoughts are interrupted as I bump into the back of a Vampire. He doesn't respond to the physical contact and I take a step back as I realize we had reached the vestibule.

The place was filled to the brim with both Vampires and livestock alike all waiting to be addressed. The tension building in my shoulders fades as Shimura isn't lead out above us in chains. Turning my head, I catch sight of Nagare near the back of the crowd with his hood pulled down.

My head snaps back forward as he tilts in head in recognition. Something was happening above had caught his attention. I looked higher until the silhouette of a person catches my eye, they continued moving towards the edge of the platform.

There was a slightly fulfilled look on her face, enough of an expression to show her gleaming fangs. She was small in stature with flowing pink hair that was easily half her body in height alone. She almost appeared nonthreatening but that idea was quickly shattered.

Like a crushing tidal wave upon their shoulders every Vampires in the crowd went down on one knee with their heads bowed. I had never seen Vampires look so cowed into submission before this moment. I didn't think I would ever see it again.

The grin faded as if it never existed. Her red eyes scan the crowd with a sense of detachment, as if she wasn't really seeing her loyal subjects before her. Her eyes hover over our family for the longest five seconds of my life before finally moving on.

She finally turns her eyes away from the crowd and clears her throat. Pointed ears twitched all throughout the crowd as she finally deigned to address them.

"Vampires of Sanguinem, first and foremost please accept my apology for assembling you here so early this morning. I have gathered you here for a matter of grave importance, it's something I wished could have been kept secret."

While there was no collective sigh at the sound of her voice Vampires all throughout the vestibule finally stood back up. The tension in the air remained was already beginning to build from her tone alone.

"The culprit behind the contagion spreading throughout our blood supply has been caught. This Vampire is not just guilty for polluting our very livelihoods but committing one the highest act of treason any Vampire can do!"

There was a violent stirring amongst the crowd of Vampires at the very thought. The livestock all seemed to wish in unison to shrink down into nothingness. To be anywhere but here at this moment.

Krul Tepes raises her right arm and silence reigns in the vestibule once again. She than waves her arm and her sleeve flutters. A ghost of smile appears of her face again. She was enjoying this.

"The traitor shall be brought into the light so that all may say his shame!"

As if her words were a cue the accused Vampire appears from the shadows near the top of the platform, escorted by four City Guards. There was a white blindfold wrapped tightly around the top of his head and his wrists were bound with chains.

As he reaches the end of the platform his Vampire escorts force him onto his knees in submission. Even though he bends his knees willingly one the guards strikes the back of his head with the butt of his sword.

The Vampire grunts audibly in pain as his forehead slams into the metallic platform. The majority of crowd roars their approval as he is prostrated before them.

The crowd quiets again as Krul Tepes approaches him from behind. His face remains up against the ground, his only movement was to take in precious air.

"Crispin Stoker... you have committed many terrible and horrific crimes against Vampire society. At this point there is no rehabilitation for your soul, the penalty for your amalgamated crimes is execution. Do you have any final words?"

He turns his bowed head slightly and murmurs something so quietly she doesn't catch it. She pauses and then slowly stoops down onto one knees and waits patiently for him to repeat himself.

"I didn't quite catch that."

"... Go to hell."

She recoils in shock as if he had reached out and physically struck her. Her eyes narrow in barely concealed and restrained fury as she stood before his defenseless form. Killing him outright would be too merciful on their part. It would only allow him freedom, she wanted him suffer first.

"Bring me the seized materials from his estate... and a syringe."

His ears twitch at her words and suddenly it felt a whole lot hotter in the city. He flexes his bound wrists, inspecting his chains for any signs of weaknesses. There was no way he was going to sit here and let this happen.

He doesn't make it very far before the four City Guards from before appear at his side and forcefully pin him to the ground. He grunts in fear, struggling against their combined strength. Krul stoops down by him again with the syringe in her right hand.

His struggling intensifies and their grips tighten in response. No matter how much he tried he was no match for them, adrenaline wouldn't save him here. She rips his sleeve apart and pushes the syringe into a vein on his arm.

The needle was as cold as ice and the contents of the syringe turned his blood into a bed of molten rock. His body temperature and heart rate skyrocket moments after the injection. They released him all at once and take tentative steps backwards. Krul felt a sense of deep accomplishment as he began to sweat from every pore on his body and soaked his cloak.

He purposefully rolls onto his back and a guard pins him again with a foot to his exposed stomach. He then rips the blindfold from his face harshly. Crispin squints as the sudden appearance of light burns his retinas.

The soldier takes cautionary steps back yet again and Crispin is helpless to do anything. The pain was already beginning to take a toll on his psyche. He rolls onto his stomach and gets an eyeful of her gleeful visage with horrified eyes. His stomach chooses this moment to flip and he spews his red breakfast everywhere but where it needed to be.

The world seems to spin and he falls into the very blood he previously vomited up. He continues to heavy until nothing more comes out. He looked and felt feeble and pathetic now, panting like a dog in the desert. This looked like the end for him.

His vision blurs and he is quickly reduced to vividly expressive vocalizations. It would have been embarrassing had he not been in the process of dying. His fangs slowly and painfully retract back into normal teeth and his red eyes turn to a muddy brown.

His youthful silver hair goes next, becoming the same shade as his eyes as his body turns human once more. The soldiers and the Krul slowly back away even further as he forces himself back onto his knees.

He turns away from them completely and clutches the sides of his head in agony. Mucus and pus slowly begins to discharge from his visible orifices and his grunts become inhuman screams.

His ears finally shrink down as the last trace of Vampirism leaves his body completely. Krul Tepes snaps her fingers as his screams finally die down into strangled garbles. His bound arms finally drop down from his head in exhaustion.

"It looks as though we won't be finding out who you conspired with, but that does not matter. The livestock who looked up to you shall receive the ultimate punishment alongside you. It only seems natural... don't you agree?"

Crispin could no longer even hear her words clearly as he continued to stare at the stone ceiling above. His very consciousness slowly beginning to slide and fall into the dark abyss.

* * *

The three children were brought to the vestibule by escort as their queen ordered. Their nervousness is replaced by relief as they catch sight of Crispin from behind. His spine was crooked and he was shaking ever so slightly. Rips begin to appear all along his cloak and shirt as his shoulders broaden.

The children slow their approach as Crispin doesn't respond to their voices. His cloak finally reaches its limit and tears into two halves with a loud snap. His spine forcibly straightens and extends causing him to rise onto unsteady feet.

He grinds in teeth together in pain as they change once again from molars to incisors. A low growl seems to pulse from his expanding voice box before he looks high and howls. Like a deranged wolf searching for the lunar moon.

The children gasp and cover their ears as the howl drowns out all other noise. He bursts forth from the rest of his clothes and thick patches of hair seem to grow before our eyes. The hair spreads all across his body in a matter of moments.

His black boots split open to reveal clawed feet and powerful muscles. The chains binding his hands come off as if they were made of paper. His eyes close for a moment before opening again to reveal a yellow vertical pupil which quickly darted all across his surroundings.

Before Krul can give the order for the beast to be killed an explosion rocks the city. A chunk of rubble from her estate lands ten meters away from them. Vampires and humans alike turn to see a roaring fire break out in the very same mansion.

Krul stares dumbfounded at the strange turn of events. While she had never actually expected his experimentation with forbidden DNA to have borne fruit. She had also never expected a fire this large to start from apparently nothing.

With their attention drawn elsewhere the beast finishes its transformation silently. Growing taller in a just a few short moments and finally finishing completely. He was majestic and frightening all at the same time. He takes several wobbly steps forward before becoming surer of himself. I lost sight of him from the bottom of the vestibule.

I snap out of the trance I had fallen into and quickly rouse Akane who was standing behind me. I shake her shoulders rather viciously and she finally looks at me. The rest of our group turn to look at me with slightly perturbed faces. There was little time for tact.

"Snap out of it, all of you! This is it, the moment we've been waiting for! The fires have been set and we need to get moving! Just as planned we split up from here and alert other humans. Whether they choose to follow you is irrelevant, you must make it to the sewer systems."

The Vampires around us were already beginning to scatter in fear and several humans were looking at us with a mixture of fear and respect. I spot Nagare on the other end of the crowd scaling a building in the direction of the first fire.

"Get moving guys, I'll see you at the tunnel!"

Mikaela, Chihiro and Akane nod with determined looks on their faces and each bolt in a different direction. I turn back to see Nagare disappear over the lip of the building. The time had finally come.

I sprinted off in another direction opposite the Vestibule and away from the raging fires. The Werewolf howls from the top of vestibule, making sounds I would always hear in my nightmares.

* * *

 **Part 2: Arson**

 **[The criminal act of deliberately setting fire to property]**

* * *

Sho pulled his hood down further onto his face and lifted the neck of his shirt over his mouth. With his disguise in place he pulls a tomahawk out that he had been concealing with his cloak. He stealthily enters the alleyway near the center of Sanguinem with vandalism on his mind. He looks up and down the alley for any movement and goes to work on a breaker box in front of him.

After six swings the metal door finally gives and swings open. He rips the hatch off easily and grasps the lever already in the on position. This control device was the final thing standing between him and the reservoir of water in Sanguinem.

With a grunt he put all the strength he could muster into his right arm. The lever comes down with a groan and the water pressure in this area sputters to a stop. With his left hand he hacks at the lever in the off position.

The first swing did nothing to the metal and the second was just as useless. The third actually left an indentation and the fourth went through cleanly. He twirls the small axe in his hand goes to work on the opposite side.

Sweat poured down his brow as he exerted more energy now than he had ever had to before. This definitely sucked more than drawing blood all day. Physical strength and vitality weren't all that great.

He sighs as the hinges on the lever break in multiple places thanks to his constant assault. He looks up just a bit and strikes the center of the box with the tomahawk. Multiple spider cracks appear in the plastic casing and electricity sparks off towards him.

He hisses in surprise and tosses the tomahawk directly behind him and into the pump peeking up from the ground. The axe is imbedded deeply into the gauge and water leaks from the damaged area.

He focuses back on the box before him and rips the lever off with another burst of strength. He tosses the lever to the ground and steps over it, walking towards his axe. He pries it loose and reaches into his cloak for his radio.

"Makoto the water has run dry, so there won't be any rain today. How about that lightning strike?"

"One act of god, coming right up."

* * *

Nagare stared with rapt attention at the gruesome spectacle unfolding before him. A grin slowly curls the edges of his mouth upwards. With the attention on the beast he pulls his hood further down his face and disappears from the crowd.

He stops at the end of the vestibule and immediately begins scaling a building. He would offer his assistance with getting the fires started and then they would need to get to the tunnels.

He pauses as he reaches the lip of the building to see me staring at him. He salutes me and clambers over the lip easily. He quickly fishes his radio from his cloak.

"Makoto, I've got that lighter with me, where am I needed?"

"Start a fire in the livestock quarter of the city. It's the only place the fires won't spread. I've already prepared the Hyakuya household, I'll be waiting for you at the tunnel system after."

He puts the radio away and his head snaps back in surprise as a firearm is discharged. One shot at first then quickly escalating to five total. He turns to see a group of City Guards driving the Werewolf away from the queen.

He forced himself to turn away and makes a beeline for the Hyakuya household. He passes several panicking Vampires and livestock alike. The hysteria in the city was spreading. Fires were consuming the buildings and the water had mysteriously dried up. This certainly did appear to be the act of an angry god.

He grabs the arm of a passing human child and lifts him into the air. The rest of his small group squeal in fear as he pulled their leader closer. The boy struggles in vain against his ironclad grip for a moment before hanging limply. He looks at the younger children now cowering in subservience beneath him. Nagare pulls him closer to his face so their eyes are on the same level.

"Stop spreading the panic around, when your heart shivers in fear so to do their souls. Calm your nerves and gather the rest of the humans to this area and wait for my return."

The boy stares in fear before numbly nodding. Nagare moves past him at an inhuman speed, crossing hundreds of feet in minutes. He stopped just ten feet from the house taken surprise by a coughing fit.

The smoke spreading throughout the city was finally getting to him. He retches violently, realizing that the smoke inhalation could very well kill him. At the moment his ability to heal was being dampened considerably.

He flips open the lighter and an orange flame flickers to life. He forces the door to the house open and off its hinges with a single grunt. He takes another look at the light before tossing it into the room. He quickly averts his eyes as the entire building is rocked by a small explosion.

He takes several steps away from the burning building and pulls out the water bottle allotted for his plan. He pulls a white towel out next and douses it in about half of the bottles contents. He downs the rest with several long drinks and tosses the plastic away.

He walks briskly back towards the area he had order the children to be while tying the cloth around his mouth. As he glides around the next corner he smiles at the large group of children nervously waiting.

He strolls into the center of the group and quickly passes them. He beckons them to follow and they tentatively obey him.

"Keep your heads as low to the ground as possible and follow me. Don't draw any unnecessary attention to yourselves. Oh... and tear your collars off before we enter the tunnels."

Whatever doubt in their minds quickly evaporated to be replaced by excitement as freedom called their names like a siren. Even more than that... the universe was calling out to them.

* * *

 **Part 3: Exodus**

 **[A situation in which people leave a place at the same time]**

* * *

I reached the tunnel an agonizing ten minutes after our plan had officially started. I had about a hundred humans following closely behind me and that was more than expected. Mikaela and Akane were both already there with a large group of children just like us all waiting with bated breath.

With our numbered combined we were nearing five hundred humans and Chihiro hadn't even shown up yet. Shimura stood at the service tunnel with them with a serious look on her face. We stop just in front of her and she nods in approval.

"Excellent work, we just need to wait a little longer for others. Now is the time to decide which tunnel you want to travel down. Our plan is rather simple, the collars you have on can and will be used to track you down. If you're caught without it on, then that will be the end of you. Those who travel with me down the main service tunnel will keep their collars on so that they will follow us. Those we decide to travel down the smaller auxiliary tunnels risk immediate death if their caught for a higher chance of escape. The risk is much lower and they can't fit all of us. At some point during the journey the main tunnel will be strategically collapsed to stop the movement of our pursuers. Make your decision quickly children!"

Several more livestock appear on the bridge leading to the tunnels and Nagare was making up the rear. Even further behind him was an even smaller group headed up by Sho. Everyone was now present and accounted for.

There were nervous looks all around but I had already decided. I was running straight up the middle and not thinking twice about it. I adjust the collar on my neck but don't rip it off. I was glad to see most in the crowd keep theirs on.

Makoto raises her voice to the newcomers and repeats what she told us even louder. Every moment we stood their felt like time being shaved off our lives.

"If you've made your decision then those traveling in the main tunnel should follow me closely. Those traveling up the main sewer system need to keep their identification tags on."

I knew what came next without having to think too hard about it. I feel a small tug on the back of my shirt and I let out a deep sigh. I turn around and stoop down on one knee to stare eye to eye with my younger family members. My face was grim but there was no hiding it any longer.

"I know I promised we would stick together until the end, but I must go back on those words. Taichi, Fumie and Ako... you three are to travel in the auxiliary tunnels and away from danger. I don't want to hear any arguments from you. You'll see us again when we reach the end of the tunnel... I promise."

I reach up and softly pull the tags from their necks, one at a time. I could see tears pooling in their eyes and I didn't blame them. I had lied to them up until this point. In the event that the main tunnel was overrun then at least they would escape with their lives.

I reach up and play with Ako's hair once before standing up and turning to leave. I turn to make eye contact with Mikaela, Akane, Chihiro and Kota as each say their own goodbyes. I stand firm as Nagare and Sho walk past us and into the tunnel.

"I don't mean to rush you, but we must part ways from here. For this plan to work the Vampires must ignore the auxiliary tunnels and go after us as a whole. Let's get moving."

Akane kisses Taichi's forehead and straightens up with a nod. The situation itself felt more bittersweet than I had expected. So much had happened and... I wouldn't have changed any of it.

"Nagare, Sho guide them safely and I'll move at maximum speed to see if JIDA is already waiting for us."

"Godspeed, Makoto."

The two Vampires nod and usher the largest group of children down the tunnel past them. Nagare waits until we are clear of the tunnel entrance and shoots a bolt into the ceiling above it. The bolt explodes on contact and rocks and debris fall down to block the entrance off completely.

It was on and the race against time to reach the surface was now on with our very lives at stake. I didn't believe there was a god but I prayed anyway, I was willing to set it all aside, if they survived.

* * *

 **Part 4: Sanguivoriphobia**

 **[An irrational fear of Vampires; Fear of blood eaters]**

* * *

Ferid Bathory had been waiting at the exit to Sanguinem for two hours now. All the things he had seen had pointed to them attempting to leave today. He had Vampires positioned at very exit and yet the net had not yet caught him innocent fish.

He stops leaning on a marble column at the sound of an explosion. Specifically, an explosive bolt from the 2nd Class crossbow stolen from his manor. He moves quickly back into the sewer system and towards Sanguinem when the smell of smoke hits him.

His eyes widen in horror as he stops in front of the entrance to the sewer system, now collapsed. They were escaping through the network of tunnels that the humans had built. The audacity and the very thought was amazing.

He takes another whiff and winces as the smoke enters his lungs. It smelled like a fire was ravaging the city in their wake. He wouldn't go after them alone when the city infrastructure was in danger.

 _Damnable livestock, I made a horrid mistake indulging them this far._

Ferid lowers his head and takes a giant breath in before building up energy in his body. He could easily clear the way with Vampiric Spellcraft.

"Breath of Salam!"

He exhaled a spell with his cursed breath and created a miniature vortex in the tunnel which was already gathering the nearby smoke. With the path clear he proceeds unhindered, leaving his spell active.

To think that three normal Vampires of no special lineage had managed to do so much damage. It was nearly unthinkable before but was a reality now because of his arrogance. Krul would want his head after this.

* * *

It took half an hour to get the fires in the city of Sanguinem under control. Even with his unique ice Spellcraft the intensity of the flames was remarkable. Some of the fires were even electrical and required dirt to extinguish.

It was madness and hysteria all the way around because a Vampire had informed him that a Werewolf had also been in the city. This is what he got for taking a break to try and kill human children gruesomely.

He put out the last major fire with a small wind spell and dusted his clothing off. Now the ventilation system could filter the toxic air and he could chase the livestock to his heart's content.

"Alright, now before I forget, where is our queen Krul?"

"Lord Ferid she assembled the City Guards in an attempt to find and destroy the Werewolf. She won't be happy that so many livestock escaped and half the city is in ruins."

Ferid kicks away a smoldering plank of wood and checks the time on his pocket watch. Vampires from all around the city were now gathering around him and waiting for orders.

"Then we have little time to waste. Let's go recapture what belongs to us. I have a feeling I know exactly where they plan to run and it won't work. They are children after all, they wouldn't be able to make it far even with more time. Exposure is deadly to humans who can't heal mortal wounds."

He closes the pocket watch and slides it back into his breast pocket with a grin curled onto his lips. They all seem to nod in unison to his apt words.

He leads the large crowd of Vampires towards the service tunnels leading out of Sanguinem. He smiled as wicked thoughts poured through his mind. Despite being having a late start he was confident that he would come out on top.

They stop at the debris filled tunnel entrance and he reaches out and touches the stone. The pile of rubble begins to slowly shake and rumble and his pupils contract the debris is cleared, sent flying in the opposite direction.

Before he allows the Vampires to pass he reaches out to the right side of the tunnel. His other hand cautions the lower class Vampires to wait.

"While it's true that these tunnels were created for and by humans it doesn't meant we haven't meddled with them in our rich history."

He feels along the wall for a moment until he finds the section not like the rest. With a twist of his wrist the nob protruding from the wall turns and the wall seems to sputter.

The wall seems to shake as cracks spread along it originating from the nob. The masonry actually turning out to be much more metallic than it previously appeared. Gears turned within the plates and quickly lock the tunnel systems down.

 _I'm coming for your head and your blood you wench._

His fangs gleamed in what little light entered the room as the Vampires streamed in the tunnel around his motionless form. When the last one entered he followed like a cat tracking a wounded mouse.

* * *

The sewer system smelled like ancient cheese that had been left out in the sun. The air in here was unpleasant to say the least and using the nicest term I could possibly think of. I was sweating like a pig in the humid environment, the only thing missing were the mosquitos.

The majority of us jogged at a strict pace, the oldest of us carrying the much younger children. Despite the harsh conditions down here, everything was going completely as planned. It appeared as though the diversionary fires had been a rousing success.

We now had an impressive lead on the Vampires who were sure to be following us soon. At the very front of group Sho and Nagare jogged at a speed just faster than we could go. They were nearly shoulder to shoulder and conserving their energy. Nagare suddenly turns to look at Sho.

"The temperature is rising, Sho. I'm also no longer feeling a breeze down here. In fact, the air has become rather stale and that simply shouldn't be the case. There are numerous unconventional openings to the surface due to weathering."

No sooner than he verbalized his suspicions his next step pushed a square section of the floor down. The pressure sensitive plate clicks into place and Nagare stumbles down onto his hands and knees.

He is back on his feet in an instant and turns to see the plate rising back to its default position. He searches around nervously for what would certainly be the bad thing to happen next. He is far from disappointed as the tunnels start to shake all around them.

Hysteria quickly spread out through the tunnels occupants like an infectious disease. Despair filled the air like poison as hopes and dream wilted like flowers in a thunderstorm. Nagare blanches in horror as a black and silver wall seems to fall from the top of the tunnel up ahead.

He struggles to his feet and races up the decrepit tunnel and towards the rapidly descending wall. He reaches it a moment to late as it seals off the tunnel completely with a crunching slam. He slams his fists up against the solid steel in frustration.

"Come the fuck on, what the hell even is this?!"

"It certainly wasn't put into place by humans. Based on its appearance I highly doubt it was created to keep people from passing through. More likely its purpose was to regulate rising water levels down here."

He turns to look at Sho out of the corner of his eye and finally relents. He steps away from the walls and Sho steps closer to give it the once over. He reaches out and places his palm over the intricate designs.

Nagare paces back and forth in the tunnel as Sho continues to inspect the obstacle to their freedom. I watch them both closely from the front of the pack of livestock from Sanguinem. Nagare peers around nervously as Sho continues to hyper focus on his task. He kneels down, completely unbothered by Nagare and his nervousness.

"How long do you need to get rid of it?"

"Impossible to say with any certainty..."

The meticulous Vampire went over the contraption with a fined tooth comb. Every moment spent stuck here was time Vampires got closing the distance between them but he remained unfazed. He finally hits pay dirt in the form of a small double edged latch.

He grips both side and pulls with all the strength he could muster. Nagare catches onto his idea quickly enough and starts working on another latch. Two of the oldest livestock also step forward to offer their assistance to the Vampires. Despite their weariness around them, they stood side by side to move towards a mutual goal.

The black gate shifts underneath their hands and air decompresses from the other side. The noise fills them with hope and they continue forward with renewed vigor. Nagare succeeds first, his latch popping from its concrete positon.

The gate shudders in response to each of their successes. On the final latch it lifts up slightly for a moment as an air current passes by it. Before it has a chance to fall back into its closed position Nagare gets his fingers underneath it.

Sho stoops down onto one knee as they both begin to bear the weight of it. Their efforts were frantic and I was helpless and only able to watch as they further combined their strength with the oldest humans. It looked as though we had finally clear this stage in our journey.

The gate finally gives as they lift in sync and before long it was halfway up. It was now high enough to get through safely. I stand off to the side and start ushering the children through anxiously.

Now that I was closer I could hear their labored breath and see their straining muscles. Nagare grit his teeth together to cope and Sho dug his fingers painfully into the metal. I couldn't even imagine their pain.

About half our group had gotten through by the time Sho began to run out of steam. His legs began to buckle under the weight and his bones began to strain to keep it all together. He turns to look at Nagare but the Vampire refuses to meet his gaze.

The gate had to be somewhere around three tons and they wouldn't be able to drop it and get to the other side. Sho already knew this, but he wondered if Nagare had made the distinction just yet. In an event it no longer mattered.

Sho closed his eyes as the strain on his spine intensified and when he opened them again the last of the humans were on the other side of the gate. The only people still on the bad side of the gate was our family, staring in horror.

"Go on, get to the other side Hyakuya! You too Nagare, I really appreciate your concern, but if you stay then your life is forfeit."

His menacing tone took them by surprise and my family quickly complied with him. One of the humans holding up the gate also heeds his warning and releases his hold on it.

"Your giving in too easy Sho, we still need you for the next part of the plan. Just give me a minute and I'll figure out a way for all of us to survive. I just need time..."

Despite his calming words, his eyes told a completely different story. A tale filled with horrified revelations and distinctly cruel realities. Sho shakes his head slowly to crush the idea from ever working.

"Yuichiro... Nagare, you both must go now. You must continue the mission and push forward at all costs. I'm exhausted and it's much too heavy to put down safely. There is little time to lose and no time at all to argue, I'll stay behind and hold them here at the gate."

He then turns to look Nagare square in the eyes. His gaze was fierce despite the pain in his spine and his immobility.

"Take the crossbow and collapse the tunnel as planned. On the count of three I want you to throw yourselves on the other side. I've invested too much into his plan for it all to end here... do you understand me?"

Nagare looks like he wants to argue but faced with his current reality he relented. He turns his head away and nods in response.

"One."

Nagare relaxed his muscles as Sho took on the brunt of the weight. I was now certain I could hear his bones beginning to break under the strain. The older human beside them closes his eyes for a moment to build his own resolve.

"Two."

Nagare began to consciously tense and prepare his muscles to dash to safety. The human they had forgotten about focused on what strength he had left after the majority of the weight was removed from his shoulders. He takes a sharp intake of air into his lungs.

"Three."

Nagare tensed all of his muscles at the final count and dives forward to safety. Guilt ravishing his soul as he left Sho to die a horrible and agonizingly slow death. He knew the things they would do to him.

The gate comes crashing down back onto the concrete as he had expected. Everything felt numb and he was disgusted with himself, really he was. He pauses at the sound of air being forcibly pushed from someone's lungs.

He turns to see Sho lying flat of his stomach beside him. The other older livestock boy was nowhere to be found. The force of the gate falling a second time and caused its middle portion to open, just wide enough to look through.

He stands and quickly peers through the smallish hole to see the human leaning against the wall on the other side. As he sees him staring he flashes him a weak thumbs up.

"But... why?"

"I could... ask you the same thing. You Vampires don't owe us anything really... and yet you were about to die for strangers. Save the tears, they probably won't kill me... and if you're in the market for making promises... just come back and free me someday, ok?"

Nagare looks down as Sho's spine finally began to slide back into place. He looks back up into the eyes of the human and nods slowly in confirmation. The young man closes his eyes for a moment and breath in and out deeply. He then closes the hole off with the latches facing the opposite way.

Nagare understood him perfectly without any more words and immediately latches the gate closed. He closes his eyes for a moment of silence for the sacrifice the human had made for them. He exhales and straightens his face before heaving Sho onto his shoulder.

Now the only thing he had to do was collapse the tunnels and force the Vampires to retreat. If at all possible in the future, he would save that young man. He would at least give it his best shot.

He picks the discarded crossbow up and gives the gate on last look before turning to go. He catches up with the other livestock in under a minute but his thoughts were still at the gate.

* * *

Ferid allowed his eyebrow to twitch in annoyance as the only recovered livestock smirks at them in satisfaction. How they had managed to get back the gate without broken bones or death was beyond him.

He stoops down to give the boy a shit eating grin right before drawing his saber. The grin disappears from the boy's face.

"My blade, consume my blood."

Spikes pierce his hand in multiple places and the blade of his sword turns a deep red color. He slashes the gate twice and the top half comes off like it was made of cardboard.

He then starts to cross himself with his left, his eyes starting to glow a white color. He inhales deeply into his lungs and start to cast a spell in reverse. He breathes out normally then inhales sharply in tune with his spell, causing the air to rush back towards him.

His Spellcraft was intensified in the enclosed tunnel area reaching its intended targets in five seconds. He quickly stabs his blade into the ground to stop his backwards momentum.

Nagare heard the horrible sound of metal being ripped from its foundation and immediately turned back around. He raises the 2nd Class cross bow to the ceiling, prepared to collapse the first part of the tunnel behind them.

He was unprepared for the sudden gust of wind to blow from behind him. He loses his grip on the crossbow and Sho, leaving them both out of reach now. The livestock unable to find something to grab are pulled back by the Spellcraft as well.

I'm one of the unlucky majority and I fly a good ten feet before colliding with the side the tunnel head first. I could have sworn I heard the sound of my skull cracking before I blacked out.

* * *

I awake in the desert of endless salt with my face buried beneath the grey crap. I force myself to feet and spit as much of it out as possible before looking around.

Unlike my previous visit the sky was clear and devoid of any stars. The Seraph was much closer this time, watching me dispassionately.

"It seems we meet again."

"Did you bring me here?"

He blinks slowly at me before looking into the distance. He stood that way for the longest time before looking back at me.

"Yes, I summoned you here. You suffered severe cranial damage and your frontal lobe is bleeding into your skull. Your journey has reached its conclusion. You will die soon."

While I was certain I didn't hear an ounce of concern or pity I did hear something else. Strangely enough his words had an undertone of disappointment just underneath the surface.

His eyes opened a fraction as we make eye contact. He breaks away as the black void above us began to fill with bleak grey clouds. Unlike before the clouds weren't just for show. Thunder boomed overhead and it began to rain down on us.

As the raindrops hit the desert of salt around us, steam began to rise in response. It appeared as though the salt was being dissolved by the rainfall. I guess he hadn't been lying about being free once I died. I suppose he didn't have a reason to lie in the first place.

"I guess you were right all along... neither of us will ever see the stars again."

When the water made contact with the Seraph he too began to dissolve and steam. The Seraph didn't appear to be in any pain and looks down at his steaming right hand. He attempts to clench the fist and the arm up to the elbow dissolves away.

"I guess at this point even this out of your control?"

"That isn't entirely true. While your wounds are indeed fatal, that doesn't mean I couldn't reverse the process. In my current state though, that is an impossibility."

He was remarkably calm for a being about to face a dishonorable death, at least in my eyes. I chuckle at how things managed to turned out despite my best efforts. Then something else he said occurred to me.

"You said: in my current state didn't you? You mean how you're tainted by the sins of humans? If that's true then you should be able to give the sin to me, we are connected!"

"What about your... dream? You would risk it all by drowning in an ocean of sins you didn't even commit. Do the stars mean so little to you? Although under the current circumstances I can't fault you for losing hope."

His only hand falls away from the wrist as he continued to think, all the while dissolving. Suddenly black tar seems to pour from his visible orifices. The disgusting gunk even started coming off his pitch blade wings and lifting into the air above them.

The salt at their feet seems to move of its own accord and covered his body like a tidal wave. His head snaps back as the last of the tarlike substance escapes his mouth. The salt surrounding his falls away to reveal his body now completely repaired.

"I've made my decision... Yuichiro, we shall see the stars, together!"

The tarlike substance then begins to surround me as if it was alive. I calmed the fear in my heart and opened myself to what I was now certain was an amalgamation of sins. The tar didn't taste like anything and it quickly entered my body with my permission.

* * *

The moment I opened my eyes, I was back in the real world. I was able to stand easily, all of my wounds had been healed completely. Both of my eyes glowed an eerie yellow color as the King of Salt possessed me.

The Spellcraft was very much still active, but no longer had the power to affect me. I lean my head back and spit a glob of tar out which is quickly carried down the sewer by the spell.

Not even ten seconds later the spell was cancelled out as Ferid himself had a lapse in concentration. No doubt trying to get the inky substance off his face.

Nagare stares at me in wonder as I speed down the hallway at speeds he couldn't even properly see. The ground beneath me shatter at force I used to propel myself forward.

I covered the distance between myself and Vampires in an instant and easily leaped over their heads. I continue forward and land horizontal to a pillar and cling to it. The entire group of Vampires turn to me with fearful eyes at my impressive display of speed.

I was only still a moment before I realized I hadn't thought this all the way through. Before any fear could fill my heart a sense of cold and calculating calm smothered it to death.

 _My power is at your disposal, Yuichiro but it won't last long. All things I lay my hands upon turn to salt._

I gripped the pillar with one hand and propel myself back the way I came. The pillar breaks down the middle from the force I generated and none of the Vampires noticed me touching the ceiling on the way past.

The effect was nearly immediate, and it didn't fail to catch their attention. The much darker concrete began to crack and turn to a greyish white color. Ferid finally manages to rip the tar from his face after I had already made my supernatural escape. He throws the tar to the ground in a fit of anger and then pauses to cautiously look up at the crackling ceiling.

The concrete above and even the walls around them chose that moment to destabilize completely. The Vampires were trapped under a heavy layer of salt, allowing the tunnel to collapse in completely. No Vampire was spared from the collapse.

I caught back up with the group fifteen minutes after the partial tunnel collapse. By then my eyes had returned to their green color and all traces of power had disappeared. The King of Salt had also stopped responding; it was now time to fulfill my end of the bargain.

* * *

Makoto appeared from the tunnel, with only the top of her head exposed. She looks all around for a moment, trying to detect any movement. It was noon and she was late to the meeting she had originally set with the humans. She wondered for a moment if they had killed the Vampires guarding the water treatment building.

She couldn't feel any living presence so she began the slow process of clambering out of the dimly let tunnel. She gets about halfway before the action of a spring uncompressing causes her instincts to kick in. She's uses her inhuman speed to dodge a row of five pitch black arrows.

She easily does a triple backflip and kicks the bottom of a trashcan to block another three arrows. With one hand firmly on the trashcan she catches another arrow in her hand and tosses the entire bin. The few soldiers firing at her scatter in surprise while two are not so lucky falling onto their asses.

The other five were already loading up another arrow into their quivers when a women lands between them. She shows her back to Makoto leaving herself completely exposed and open to an attack willingly.

The woman, or rather teenager was probably their Commanding Officer and she firmly places her palms out to face both sides simultaneously. It surprised her sometimes the emotions humans were capable of. Could it be possible that they felt even more intense feelings inside? She might never know.

"Hold your fire, I repeat hold your fire soldiers! Lower your weapons, this Vampire is not our enemy."

Their bows slightly lower for fear of firing upon their Commanding Officer. It certainly helped that Makoto hadn't even felt the need to pull her pistol out. It remained comfortably in her holster.

Makoto was already on to business, not feeling threatened by the humans who nervously watched her. Despite her calm demeanor and features, red hot anger was boiling inside her at this moment. She pulls out her personal pocket watch and opens it for all the soldiers to see. It was high noon and the sun would only begin to set from here.

"I forewarned you humans, two days ago. We had a head start but the other Vampires are sure to be right behind us. In case you thought I was lying, I wasn't... nearly a thousand livestock will be here soon and they'll be sitting ducks. Do you understand the situation better now? The darkness will spread from now on and Vampires fight best underneath the moonlight."

"I apologize, my name is Aiko Aihara and I was the one you spoke too before. I believed you might be serious but I had nothing to substantiate that belief. Forgive me but now that I do I'll make that call back home."

She turns away and gives a quick order to a soldier who sprints back in the building. She watches patiently as the soldier's returns with another with a forest green backpack. The soldier stops in front of his Commanding Officer and salutes before facing away from her.

She reaches into the forest green backpack and extends an antenna high above the soldier's head. He crouches and the antenna only seems to go higher. Another two soldiers appear from the building and quickly put together a mobile metal table.

She sits her radio down on the table and pulls cables from the backpack which she plugs into the radio. She fiddles with the nods on the radio and pulls on the headsets.

After several pregnant moments static comes through her speakers. She turns the dial just a bit and put the transceiver near her mouth. She inhales quickly recalling the correct format and accurate terminology for their company.

"Beacon Actual this is Pilgrimage 2-2 requesting an immediate audience with Lieutenant General Kureto Hiragi. We have wounded, six NKIA and an estimated total of one thousand young human children. We aren't at full strength and aren't in a position for a drawn out assault, how copy?"

The soldier on duty at the Communication Station Post[CSP] pokes the bottom of his hat at another request to speak with the lieutenant General. He removes the cap and fans himself for a moment.

"Pilgrimage 2-2 this is Beacon Actual; the Lieutenant General is in a meeting with the General Tenri Hiragi. Is there any way that I can assist your company this afternoon?"

He slides his headsets off as she raises her voice, the noise causing his ears to ring for a moment. People always go so upset with others trying to help them.

"I'm going to have to ask you to calm down and explain the situation to me. Because right now I don't see how children should be your priority."

The soldier pauses in surprise as a gloved hand firmly grips his shoulder. He turns and is shocked to see the face of Lieutenant Colonel Guren Ichinose.

The higher ranked soldier shoves his lesser out of the seat rather forcefully. The man stumbles for a moment before righting himself with a salute.

"Take a break soldier, I'll handle this... and give me your headset."

He slips the headset he took from the soldier over his head and pushes the microphone closer to his mouth. He was taller than the man so he quickly adjusted the seat and sat down. He grins at the voice on the other side of the transceiver.

"Nice to hear your voice again, Aihara what's it been, six months?"

There was a sigh of relief on the other side of the line before her voice returned. He was just glad she hadn't been mauled to death by one of the Horsemen out there.

"You don't know how relieved I am to hear you speak again, Guren, sir."

Such respect, if only he received it from his peers and colleagues on the same level as himself. Just a modicum would be enough for him.

"How can I be of assistance to my favorite subordinate?"

He heard her take a deep breath on the other end of the frequency. Either this was going to be a gigantic call for help or a long list of things she wanted when she got back. He didn't know which would be better for him.

"It's a long story and I don't have time to tell it all, we need help evacuating a thousand young children."

His breath caught in his throat at the mention of children. His deal with Ferid Bathory had gone awry and no one had ended up leaving Sanguinem. He wondered if the two situations were connected.

He leans forward and rests his elbows on the worktable, his mind going into overdrive. It could still be done after all.

"I'm going assuming you wanted Kureto for a casevac. Normally I wouldn't tread into such dangerous territory myself but this is serious. I'll mobilize the vehicles and get the Vampire Extermination Unit ready to move. Give me your coordinates."

Guren nods slowly and deliberately as he scribbles the numbers she gives him onto a paper beside the worktable. They were dangerously close to Kyoto and such a mission could easily turn into a bloodbath if they weren't careful.

"Alright Aihara, I need you to sit tight with the rest of Pilgrimage 2-2. The fastest transport helicopter in service will take just under fifty minutes to reach your location. Once the Osprey reaches the designated LZ about thirty-two reserve soldiers are going to get out and as many children are going to get on as possible."

Aiko nods in response doing the math in her head as he continued to speak. This was sounding much more possibly than she had originally thought.

"After the Osprey departs the Chinook will arrive thirty minutes later and drop off about fifty-five more soldiers. Just like before you will load as many children onto it as possible. In both cases these vehicles will be carrying shipping containers to maximize the amount of these children saved. By the time all this has happened you will probably be in combat with the Vampires, the next two helicopters to arrive will be there to assist you in combat. The final set will be much smaller transport helicopters, by my estimation that will be your final chance out of Kyoto."

Guren reaches into his breast pocket as he continues to speak calmly, a grey key remerges with his hand. He inserts it into the console just in front of him and turns it ninety degrees.

A green light appears on all the consoles in the rooms which quickly becomes an angry red. Alarms and sirens sound through the room as the entire base prepared for deployment.

On the other side of the frequency Aihara was patiently writing down everything Guren said when the alarms started. She attempts to speak into the radio again but Guren quickly cut her off.

"Hold tight, Aiko, were coming to get you. I repeat hold out until they arrive."

She nods and her faces sets with determination. She turns the radio off and adjusts the collar of her uniform.

"Alright soldier's backup is on the way! We need to hold out for fifty minutes under assault. Once the children reach this location we will immediately fall back to Higashi-Maizuru station and set up a line of defense there."

The soldiers around her salute and immediately begin breaking down the portable table. She calmly strolls up to Makoto with a diplomatic look on her face.

"Reinforcements are now on their way for an extraction. I feel the desire you explicitly thank you for all you've done so far."

She turns to go but stops long before she could get far and turns back around. She pauses, her eyes darting away before looking back.

"I'll be honest with you, human, I could care less about you or your men. The person I do care about needs you and your men to survive, you _are_ a necessary element. We will stand with you for as long as that continues."

Makoto doesn't wait for a response and pulls out her radio. She continues walking away waiting for static which would signal that they were in range.

They were late by five minutes but the static crackles through the speakers and she extends the antenna.

"Nagare, I've made contact with the humans on the surface. I need to hear some good news because I've got bad news to tell unfortunately. The bad news is that they reinforcements aren't here, but the good news is they are now on their way."

"I've also got good and bad news to tell you. We've had several deadly skirmishes with Vampires but the collapse of the tunnel was a complete success. The Vampires will be forced to reroute to our location, I repeat we are in the clear for the next hour."

Makoto nearly dropped the radio in world crumbling relief at the thought of their chances increasing exponentially. She places her free hand over her heart for a moment, marveling at the rhythmic beating. She squeezes the front of her cloak.

"We have reached the final phase of Operation Hyakuya. Now is not the time to falter, we need to finish strong. Let's bring _our_ humans home."

* * *

 **Part 5: The Eleventh Hour**

 **[The last possible moment before it's too late]**

 _Fifty Minutes Later_

* * *

Nagare and the other Vampires had been assisting in the fortification of the train station for nearly the last hour when the sound reached his ears. He stops and stands up straight.

His ears twitch and he quickly brings two fingers into his mouth. He inhales sharply through the nose and whistles loudly for all within the building to hear.

The roar of the engines grows louder in his eardrums as soldiers drop their tasks to run for the entrance. He slowly follows with Chihiro tagging along close behind.

He pauses as he catches sight of the metal monster zooming through the sky. He whistles in appreciation for the things humans seemed to create so effortlessly.

The black and green Osprey approached the building at a blistering pace from the east. Soldiers outside the station wave excitedly at the pilot. He salutes them from the air and circles back around the vehicle for a landing. The shipping container attached to the bottom of the tiltrotor vehicle unhooks with a chink.

The container crashes to the ground roughly and the Osprey tilts its rotors for a quick landing. The wind pushes on them violently and Nagare quickly shields his eyes from the onslaught.

Aiko watched calmly from the roof the train station as the Osprey began to land. She turns away from the tiltrotor vehicle and looks through a pair of military issue binoculars. No sign of the Vampires just yet, as it should be. They had another nine minutes.

The Osprey touches down successfully moments later but the engines remain on. As the bay doors open soldiers with genuine firearms stream off the ship in droves. She descends from the roof of the building as quickly and safely as possible.

Each soldier more or less looked the same but some certainly stood out from the rest. Their Commanding Officer steps off the vehicle last, his expression was blank. She strode forward to greet the high ranking soldier.

"I am Lance Corporal Kenzo, I am under orders to assist with the evacuation. I am also under orders to provide reinforcement to the Company Pilgrimage 2-2."

He reaches out and they shake hands in a professional manor. She couldn't read him at all, whether he was excited or scared was a complete and utter mystery.

"Alright were on a tight schedule soldiers, start loading the kids onto the Osprey. Youngest first to maximize the space this vehicle has to offer."

He pauses and turns back to look at her with an inquisitive expression on his face. There was an unsettling glint in his eyes, a spark of life.

"Where are the Vampires we were informed were here? I need a word with them."

She didn't get a chance to respond before Makoto appeared at her side. She didn't get a chance to speak before the Corporal tosses a rectangular black package towards her. She instinctively catches the object a second before the smell of nitroglycerine reaches her nose.

She immediately drops the brick of plastic explosives and jumps ten feet backwards. Aiko turns towards the Corporal with palpable anger and makes to berate him but he raises his hand. Corporal Kenzo doesn't flinch from her ire and instead calmly picks the explosive up and strolls towards the Vampire.

"Calm yourself Vampire. _We're_ running out of precious time, we need your assistance planting these shaped charges. In the surrounding buildings preferably. You see we don't have the necessary time to suitably plant them ourselves. The Vampires will be here soon."

He stops just in front of the Vampire and fearlessly holds out the sharped charge again. Her eyes flicker between the explosive in his hands to his steely eyes before she grabs the charge.

"Not that's not to say I don't understand your reluctance, but you should know already that it would be a waste of a Shaped Charge."

Her eyes narrow as she catches his slight towards her strength. She was still strong enough to end this man prematurely. He knew that already, but they needed one another to survive this.

"Watch your back Kenzo."

* * *

Aiko twists the nob on her telescope as she searched for any indication that the Vampires were encroaching up their position. They had easily cleared away the buildings on this block thanks to the explosives provided by Corporal Kenzo. If they made a move, she would know about it.

Her breath caught in her throat as she glimpses a shadow at the edge of her vision. She focuses her sight and catches another glimpse of a dashing shadow, much too fast for any human. She grabs the pistol sitting below her and shoots a flare high into the air above.

Like the apex predators they were they followed our scents and zeroed in on the train station. It was an inevitability that all humans eventually faced at one point another. The only difference between humans now were those who lived, and those who died.

From what she could make out the Vampires had regrouped with their main forces before arriving. The only consolation so far was that she could see no City Guards accompanying them.

She twists the nob again on her handheld telescope as soldiers pour out from the building. Each one stoops down onto one knee and begins loading bolts into their crossbows. Another group of soldiers form a line just behind them with normal bows at the ready.

As the sun begin to set in the east the soldiers taking positions on the roof cast long ominous shadows. With the sun firmly behind them the humans for once inspired fear into the Vampires. Each soldier reaches up to the barrel of their firearm as Kenzo gives them the signal.

Ferid continues to advance in front of his legion of Vampires when he finally notices the shadows. As he tries to look directly at them the sun gets in his eyes. He raises his hand to shield his eyes from the sun and finally sees the gun barrels pointed directly at them.

The first bullet whizzes by his head a moment later and passes through the Vampire just behind him. The soldier hit the Vampire foot soldier dead on, and he quickly falls over dead. Ferid grunts in annoyance and quickly raises a wall of ice between them and the resounding rainfall of lead.

The Vampiric soldiers all crouch down behind the wall of ice, awaiting orders. He sinks his fingers into the ice and peeks over the edge curiously. The entire block except for the tallest buildings had been cleared away. Which meant that approaching the building meant crossing a completely open area.

The distance between their positions was about one hundred meters give or take. They would need aerial assistance at some point to pull a victory here. The humans seemed to get smarter by the day.

"The enemy is using firearms with gunpowder, a bullet through the heart or brain can be deadly. The City Guards will arrive on the scene soon, until then scatter and overwhelm their forces."

The Vampire don't respond verbally and stream around his ice like a river around a boulder. A barrage of arrows is released in response as the Vampires attempt to close the gap. With the fodder out front Ferid finally leaves his icy cover and scans the new battlefield.

The traitors would be a key piece in this battle and needed to be eliminated quickly. He zeroes in on the train station and crossed half the distance in a mere two strides. He needed to be stalled quickly or the evacuation would be brought to an unpleasant game over.

Makoto turns the nob on her radio until the static could be heard even in her cloak. She then pulls out the detonator Corporal Kenzo had given her before. She pulls the cord on the end and the red light shifts to a much cooler green. His encroachment needed to end here and now before he got any closer. She flips the switch.

The first shaped charge goes off with a terrible bang, the initial blast triggers a multitude of smaller ones. Debris rains from the sky and Makoto quickly begins sliding down the skyscraper she had taken shelter in.

She digs her nails into the building as her speed continued to build erratically. From her vantage point she could see everything and yet she couldn't change anything from up here. With her free hand she upholsters her pistol and quickly inspects it to calm her nerves.

Judging by the position of the sun in the sky, they had less than hour of daylight left on their side. After that the fight would take a turn for the worst and it would become a wholesale slaughter. There would be nothing they could do to stop it by then.

She desperately hoped that the helicopters would arrive soon to back them up. If they could just relieve the pressure of a Progenitor from the battlefield she guaranteed they would survive this. Which relied entirely on Sho and Nagare being in position before she arrived.

What equated to essentially a suicide mission surprisingly didn't feel her with a sense of despair. Instead a feeling of calm seemed to descend upon her shoulders.

Ferid stopped advancing as the blast waved rushed all around him. The hot air was terribly unpleasant and he could feel his skin being singed already. He quickly turns himself away and uses Spellcraft to cool himself down.

The blast wave stops a moment later and he continues forward again for a few steps before stopping. He turns around again with a grin to see Nagare standing ten meters away. The lower class Vampire raises his 1st Class Tanto towards the Progenitor in a challenging gesture.

Ferid accepts the challenge and grips the ornate handle of his own 1st Class sword. He slowly draws it from its scabbard and angles it towards Nagare.

"I'll take you all alive, drag you back to Sanguinem. Then I'll lock you and personally make sure you become a demon. Count on it."

Ferid anticipated a plethora of different emotions but he hadn't expected arrogance. The corners of his mouth curl into a grin that made his blood boil. His grip on his sword tightens.

He dashed forward and struck faster than Nagare could even react. The sword split the Vampire from shoulder to hip and Ferid grinned in satisfaction. That was until the two halves glow and shimmer before finally winking out of existence.

"A Dreamweaver Illusion spell?"

He growls as he sees Nagare make a break from the shadows for the nearest building. Ferid makes sure to shake the illusion off completely and gives chase.

Makoto touches down on the pavement moments later and turns the volume on her radio down. The interference from the cell tower amplified the sound through the train station.

* * *

Aiko stands on the top of several shipping pallets along with Corporal Kenzo and Corporal Dai. Below them were just about every soldier in their Company and beyond, waiting patiently. She raises her palm and specifically her fingers to the soldiers. She pulls out her pocket watch with her other hand and stares at it as she drops her fingers.

"Three... two... one..."

At the end of her countdown they synchronize their pocket watches for exactly twenty minutes. They needed to fend the Vampires off for twenty minutes before the next set of reinforcements arrived.

"Remember soldiers, we don't need to kill every Vampire we see. We just need to prolong this fight as long as possible. Play our cards right and we'll see the next sun rise."

The Company of soldiers were solemn for a moment before seemingly shaking the doubt from their minds. She straightens the front of her uniform and then cracks her neck.

With the Progenitor being lured away the soldiers prepared to take the fight to the Vampires. Like floodgates had been opened soldiers poured out from the building and surged forward to engage the Vampires. Even though the sun was setting and it was getting harder to see, they all knew that helicopters were on the way. Hope was impressively powerful, even in small doses.

* * *

Ferid tore the door off his hinges as he relentlessly pursued Nagare into an abandoned building. His steps were like thundered compared to his chosen prey. Nagare passed through an office and weaved down a row of cubicles, creating a substantial gap between them.

Ferid had no such compulsion to cleanly follow his prey though. He tears through the office space with a fury unlike anything else. Cubicles and desks went flying in all directions and he was quick to close the gap Nagare had created.

As they raced through narrow corridors Nagare threw down a china cabinet in an effort to slow him down. Ferid destroys it with a single slash of his sword and continues on without pause.

Nagare grips the wall to his right and takes a sharp right turn. Ferid prepares to take the same turn at full speed but the rotting wooden floors give way beneath him. His sword clambers down to the floor beside his waist and he hisses with anger. He grunts irritably and forces himself from the wrecked floor and looks down the corridor. He could just barely see Nagare making a left hand turn.

He was just about prepared to give chase when the sound of skidding feet sound from behind him. Makoto waves to him from a set of double doors quite casually. He growls at her and immediately retrieves his dropped sword.

By the time he turns back around the double doors were beginning to close. He burst through them a moment later and grumbled as he realized it led to flight of stairs going up.

He punches the wall in anger and sheathes his sword before going up the stairs untraditionally. Leaping from rail to rail he quickly caught up with the wench who had thoroughly earned his ire. He begins to draw his sword again and she breaks off from the steps at the next landing and through the door.

She makes it a few strides before the entire door and surrounding walls are obliterated. He emerges from the debris with a demented grin of his face and begins to close the distance between them.

It was all that Makoto could do to keep ahead of the Progenitor as her time continued on. She regretted not working out more most of her life and reading less books. Ferid didn't show any signs of tiring and seemed to have forgotten all about Nagare.

He would soon need to forget about her because she was approaching the next checkpoint. She turns and raises the pistol to eye level, firing several shots at Ferid. His pupils contract and he utilizes his superior speed to evade the bullets with ease.

The barrel of the gun smokes as she continues forward, approaching a full glass window. She doesn't make any turns and instead powers forward and through the window without hesitation. The glass shatters as she soars down towards the battlefield below.

He stops as the threshold of the window, debating whether this was another deterrence or not. His instincts kick into overdrive again as an entire cubicle is hurled towards him. He turns and swings his sword in a wide arc, cutting the cubicle and building diagonally.

The wind produced by his attack blows his hood down to reveal Sho. The Vampire drops his slings his crossbow over his shoulder and takes off running in the opposite direction. Ferid considered collapsing the entire building to make sure this one didn't escape at all.

He raises his sword to deliver the strike to the foundation of the building when Sho reappears at the entryway to the corridor. This time he had a large industrial flashlight in his hands. A cord went from the back of the device to an outlet on the wall.

The Vampire gives him a shit eating grin and flips the switch without hesitation. The device illuminates half the room easily and burns both his rods and cones indiscriminately. He recoils instantly, covering both his eyes protectively. The powerful light causes steam to rise from his damaged skin and eyes.

His arm flails around unintelligibly and Sho doesn't get a chance to shoot him with the crossbow. Ferid unintentionally projects an attack onto the floor underneath them, causing the skyscraper to start collapsing.

The ground underneath him shook and he quickly made a break for the window. The building shudders and the flood collapses completely just as Sho dives from out the window to the battlefield below. Mission impossible accomplished.

* * *

The Chinook seems to appear from nowhere, shining a bright spotlight to pierce the darkness. There was cries of victory throughout the concrete battlefield as the chopper releases its shipping container. With its arrival the signal to retreat was given and the soldiers pulled back.

The City Guards surge forward, unyielding forces of nature ready to strike. One soldier in particular had a City Guard close behind and didn't appear like he was going to make it.

A trio of soldiers that exited the Chinook moments ago heft a rocket launcher onto their shoulder. While one steadied the other took the opportunity to aim behind the soldier.

"We've got AT, heads down!"

The rocket exits its launcher a second later and streaks towards the soldier and City Guard. The estranged soldier smirks and dodges around the rocket leaving the Vampire exposed. Its eyes widen as the explosion consumes it whole.

There was more cheering a second before the Vampire emerged from the cloud with an arcane shield. By this time another soldier and moved back into the hot zone with a war axe and swings at the City Guard.

The Vampire blocks the attack easily with his sword and the first shoulder swings around to attack his left flank. His Cursed Gear makes direct contact with his shield and now both hands were tied up.

One hundred meters away a sniper watched the action idly with an air of disinterest. He chambers a round into his M-24 and prepares to engage targets on the battlefield. A smile appears on his face as he lined his sights up with a pesky Vampire pushing his limits.

That same City Guard is stopped dead in his tracks as a bullet passes through his skull. His grip on his sword falters and his Spellcraft disappears as he collapses onto his back.

The two soldiers hightail it from the now dead zone with their fellow soldiers covering their backs. Aiko stood at the forefront releasing a barrage of explosive arrows to cover their retreat. The Noble leading the City Guards springs into action and blocks one of her arrows long before it could detonate.

Just behind them several soldiers were attempting to get floodlights from inside the station working again. With any luck they could prevent further encroachment on their position for some time.

The twin rotor helicopter above circles the building twice more before beginning the landing process. Its bay doors open as it finally touches down and fifty-five more JIDA soldiers stream off.

They urgently signal for the evacuation process to begin immediately. The doors to the train station open again as children were quickly loaded onto the vehicle. All the accumulates hope seemed to evaporate as helicopters on the Vampires side arrived on the scene.

The Noble from before dusts himself off as the Sanguinem's main Vampire forced arrived to back him up. One by one the floodlights turn on and cause the Vampires to hiss in anger. The copilot of the Chinook hops off his chopper and brings around an armored case with the help of two other soldiers. The aviation soldier was running back to the helicopter before Aiko could even ask what is was. Moments later they begin to lift off.

Corporal Kenzo appears at her side just as the helicopter made radio contact with her. She pushes the receiver on her radio.

"Pilgrimage 2-2 I almost forgot, the Lieutenant Colonel wanted me to drop that case off. He said it might be useful, I have no idea what it is."

* * *

Kenzo was already efficiently working with another soldier to pry the metallic crate open as fighting raged all around them. Whatever it was it had better be worth the effort it took to get the case open.

"What do you think a weapon with casing like this holds sir? Could it possibly be a last resort? Possibly of the nuclear variety?"

Corporal Kenzo didn't visibly react to his inquiry, opting to continue working.

"While I agree that it's a weapon of some sort Private, I'm sure our superiors have a contingency plan if we fail. I highly doubt it involves blowing this area up."

The metal latch on the protective metal case finally gives way with a final groan of protest. Its contents were less than conventional and his mind was in overdrive analyzing the parts.

There was a long cylindrical barrel nestled amongst a handle and an electric motor. He pulls all the parts out and then the protective foam at the bottom on the case. As he suspected there were long belts of ammunition hidden at the bottom of the casing.

"M134 Gatling Gun with an extended ammunition belt. Assemble it as quickly as possible, I know the perfect person to wield it."

He pulls his military backup from his shoulders and removes their groups last two shaped charges. He then drops the open backpack beside the soldier.

"Feed that end of the ammunition belt into the back pack."

The squad of Apache helicopters piloted by Vampires finally appeared just above their main forces. The mechanic began reattaching the cylinder to the main body of the Minigun with a wrench.

Nagare crouched down beside the JIDA soldier, patiently waiting for the man to finish. He next secured the handle onto the very back of the body with a screwdriver.

Another soldier appears on his right and helps him shoulder an impossibly heavy backpack. He watches as the soldier then continues to feed the belt of ammo from the backpack into the box on the side of Minigun.

The sound of approaching helicopters was starting to make him nervous. He glances down at the mechanic as he locks the electric motor into place on the side of the weapon. He then tilts up so the handle faced the sky, Nagare understood.

He grabs the Minigun and lifts it easily with one hand. The two soldiers back up as he gets a feel for its parts and pieces. With his free hand he adjusts the back up and wraps his hand around the grip of the weapon.

He primes the barrel by applying light pressure to the trigger. The barrel spins up with considerable force while the mechanic watches to measure the adequacy of his work. The mechanic is finally satisfied and gives Nagare the thumbs up.

He acknowledges the man and aims the beast of a weapon towards the approaching enemy helicopters. He focuses his attention on the bird leading the formation.

The night air near the roof the train station is lit up in a dazzling display as Nagare peppered the heavens. The helicopters veer off with evasive maneuvers while his intended target is a bullseye.

Within seconds of pulling the trigger the main engine and the secondary rotor malfunctioned. The bullets even managed to graze the pilot as he tries to keep it all together. The aviation vehicle spirals tail first twice before impacting the ground in a fiery heap.

The JIDA soldiers cheer in exhilaration as Nagare forces the main Vampire forces to scatter in confusion. They decide in that moment to switch targets in order to sow even more confusion.

Nagare pulls the barrel from the night sky and aims at street level towards the Vampires on the ground. His grinning visage is illuminated as he tears up their barricades with an unrelenting barrage of lead. Meanwhile the archers fire into the air suddenly catches the Apache helicopters off guard.

The City Guards were then unable to encroach any further on their position. Even the Noble remained behind their recently created trenches as Nagare continued to suppress them with accurate and calculated fire.

Aiko crouches down just behind him and fires a cluster group of three arrow above. While all three miss completely the Vampire wasn't expecting them to all change direction midflight. By the time he saw them his helicopter was a fiery wreck heading back down to earth.

The two Corporals quickly steal a page from her book and each begin targeting separating attack helicopters. Corporal Dai managed to sink an arrow directly into the rotor of a chopper passing above him.

The pilot viciously struggles with the controls for a moment before it hit their own soldiers. The final three Apache helicopters weren't having any of their tactics though, staying a good distance away from the train station. They begin unloading salvo after salvo of hydra rockets into the building and the formation of soldiers.

The tides of battle had turned yet again.

* * *

By the time the sun rose the station was nearly overridden by Vampires. The remaining soldiers and children were now en route to the Secondary LZ just ten klicks away.

Corporal Kenzo had informed her that it was actually a housing division. Beyond the terrace houses was their salvation, they only needed to make it there.

They ran in loose knitted groups across open streets, their only intention was to keep ahead of the Vampires. Relief flooded through her system as their backup arrived above them. The two Little Birds hover for a moment before one drops a package off at the front of the pack.

Corporal Dai gives the signal to keep moving while he picks the case up himself. It wasn't very long at all before she heard the sound of their mounted Miniguns tearing up the pavement.

So far they had been exceedingly lucky and hadn't encountered a single Horsemen. She shouldn't have even been thinking about it considering her luck with the Horsemen in the past.

Suddenly the building to their right explodes in a shower of debris and Horsemen leaves the cloud. Her luck always seemed to do this

The creature eyes them for a moment and opens its mouth to reveal its teeth. I stared directly into the eyes of the beast and willed it to not attack them. I called for whatever power I had left in my system to save us the loss of life.

My eyes flicker a deep purple color for a moment and the Horsemen stops moving. My eyes were back to normal a moment later and I pretended to be just as amazed as all the others were.

To their amazement they were able to pass by without it even attacking them. It merely stood still as soldiers vaulted and slid underneath it to get by. It barely even gave them a second glance before proceeding the way they had come.

"What the hell? It ignored us completely?"

"It's after the Vampires, the gods are with us!"

"Doesn't matter, keep moving soldiers!"

She glances back as the green and white beast engages the Vampire forces along with their helicopters. What could that have possibly meant? Those beasts had always preferred human meat to Vampire.

She would have to think about it later because that last obstacle meant they now had even more time. This was looking even more possible with each passing moment. She would accomplish something great and live to tell about it.

It was every loyal soldiers dream as they served. Everyone had their own story but similar goals in mind. They all just wanted to make a difference and contribute something to humanity.

* * *

The Little Birds ran out of ammunition just shortly after we reached the terrace houses. The two vehicles had proceeded forward towards the LZ ahead of us. All we needed to do now was hold the line here until the children were evacuated.

After opening the last case delivered their hopes were revitalized. It was standard issue military SOFLAM. It meant that something was coming on their behalf to rain hellfire on the Vampires.

Corporal Kenzo was already in the process of setting the laser designator up. Once he lines the sight up with the path they had originally come down he turns the laser on. Now all they had to do was wait for them.

"Pilgrimage 2-2 this is Vulture Actual; I have permission for three strafing runs. After that though you really are on your own, you need to get back to base asap."

The soldiers heard the fighter jet long before they heard the voice over the radio. It must have been launched by the aircraft carrier stationed in Tokyo Bay the army had commandeered from the JSDF.

This also meant that the Vampires could hear it coming in this direction too. Aiko peers off the opposite edge of the roof as helicopters continue to take off with children in tow. They were nearly in the clear.

Suddenly the noise of it breaking the sound barrier was right on top of them and the fighter passes over their heads. The magnificent bird of prey circles the battlefield instilling fear in its intended prey.

The entire block is illuminated as the jet dumps out dozens of flares all over. The Vampires forces couldn't decide if they should push forward or retreat.

The Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jet doesn't wait for them to make up their minds either. The next time the fighter jet circles around it carves a path straight through their forces with tis Vulcan canon.

Buildings, concrete and Vampires are torn to shreds by its powerful weapons system. The Vampires quickly snap out of it and start pushing forward despite the bird still being in the area.

The bird of prey dumps more flares and this time releases a guided missile along with its strafing run. The explosion halts their progress indefinitely and they reconsider retreating.

They still had one more strafing run before the bird needed to return to base. After just moments it had delivered more destruction than they had all night.

She takes a seat on the roof and breath out a sigh of relief. All of the excitement of the day seemed to fade away as adrenaline stopped pulsing through her veins. Their heroic vulture was setting up for a third strafing run and they needed to disappear quickly.

Suddenly Corporal Dai began panicking with a telescope to his eye. He swiveled his vision up and down the street growing more and more erratic.

"I've lost sight of that Noble, where the hell did he go? Any of you have eyes on him?"

Aiko searches up and down the city block in search of the elusive Noble with the rest of the soldiers. Just how bad could it be to lose track of this dangerous Vampire now?

She received her answer moments after asking it mentally. Her reaction speed was much too slow as he appeared over the edge of the building and seized her by the throat.

The Noble slams her down onto her back, tightening his grip on her throat. She grunts in agony as cracks form all along the masonry where her spine connected with it.

With his free hand the Noble slams his fist into the jaw of Corporal Dai who attempted to approached from his blind spot. He is sent flying across the roof and into the railing, the bones in his shoulders snapping in two. The man hollers in agony and clutches the injury.

The Vampire easily lifts her up high into the air by the neck. From her next perspective she catches a glimpse of Corporal Kenzo attempting something similar from just behind the Noble. He tightens his grip on his pistol for a moment before preparing to aim it.

His eyes widen in shock as the Noble reaches out and grabs in fist with lightning like speed. He lifts the human soldier into the air and slams him down on the roof with little effort. Kenzo grunts and spits out blood form his mouth, immobilized for the moment. His gun clatters away from him as well.

"You've had serendipitous luck up until this point, in fact it treads into the territory of destiny really, but that all ends here with you. I'm sure you'll be celebrated and lauded like a hero amongst the humans with stories about your final agonizing moments."

She sputtered pitifully, trying desperately to get air into her starved lungs. Corporal Dai clutched his broken shouldered and could only watch with horror as the Noble squeezed the life from her body. She looks away from the red eyes above to his fearful ones.

"Run..."

Dai stares at her in horror after hearing her final plea. He turns to look back at the helicopters ready to take off at any moment. They were only still here waiting for their commanding officers. He really could escape; this Noble didn't seem to care about him. He turns to look back at Aihara as she began to lose consciousness.

The stubborn bastard Kenzo slowly forces himself back onto unsteady feet. A tiny pool of blood was leaking from his wounds. He makes a desperate reach and grabs the revolver from his dropped position. He sits himself up against the opposite railing on the building and points the weapon at the Noble. His arm was noticeably shaken as he tried to control the pain coursing through his body. The Noble smiles snidely at the effort the wounded soldier.

"The tenacity of our food amazes me sometimes... the lengths you'll go through for only a pyrrhic victory is astounding. Well go on then, shoot."

* * *

"Nagare we need to go!"

Nagare paused to glance at Sho, barely registering the grip on his wrist. His ironclad grip on the sniper rifle tightened until the metal began groaning in protest. He couldn't take his eyes off the scene playing out several rooftops away.

"You just don't get it, do you Nagare? We have no friends anymore, the Vampires will kill us... and so will the humans."

"No... I don't get it and you know what? I'm glad I don't because I was bred to live and die for the glory of my betters, I never had a choice before... but now I do. I don't know the fear of death and that makes me strong, I don't blame you for harboring the fear. Being Vampires isn't what made us monsters, it's our actions that make us monsters. So yes, we are Vampires, beings that simply need blood to survive... not monsters like the 4 Horsemen of John who feed for gluttony alone. It's time we act the part; monsters are made not born."

He yanks away his arm from the rapidly loosening grip of Sho who looks down for a moment. Despite the mutual agreement they had with the humans, they had bailed the moment the children had gotten away. There was nothing more expected from them, they had agreed only to that.

Still, despite all that Nagare couldn't get the kindness he had been shown out of his mind. Most of the soldiers were tense around them, but there was no blatant fear of them. They had even grown to trust Vampires to watch their backs... and what had we done to them in return?

He sits the M-24 on the ledge of the building and aims it directly at the Noble. Even if Aihara were to die, the Vampires would lose a Noble in this fight to make this a true victory.

 _I'm sorry Aihara, that I couldn't save you._

Suddenly Sho and Shimura were crouched beside him. It appeared as though they were going to stay too.

"This is a bad angle; you won't be able to hit from here with tagging the human. Give it a moment, don't be hasty."

"How about I just aim for his head?"

"You've never used this weapon, bad idea. Always aim for center of mass to increase chances of actually hitting the target."

Sho shakes his head from his other side. Already offering his perspective unwilling to leave the two idiots behind alone. They were starting to grow on him.

"This isn't a human target though; center of mass isn't going to put down a Noble. You need to hit vital organs or its pointless."

Nagare adjusts a nob on the top of his scope when it became apparent that he wouldn't be able to save her. For all his talk he still couldn't save anyone. At least Chihiro had managed to get away safely.

His eyes dilate as the fight on the rooftop seemed to escalate. Just when all hope seemed to be lost the Noble signed the papers for his own surrender.

Their jaws nearly hit the roof beneath them as the Vampire seemingly moved Aihara out of the way to give a perfect view of his whole body. It didn't matter why or for how long, he wasn't going to question it. Nagare closed his left eye and aimed directly for the right side of his chest.

The scope of his rifle flashed at the last moment, attracting the tension of the Noble. He barely registered the threat in time to see muzzle of his barrel explode and the bullet fly towards him.

The shot was dead center, passing cleanly through his chest cavity and then out his back. The front of his fancy cloak begins to turn red as his heart was turned to Swiss chess. He releases his grip on Aihara's throat moments later.

Nagare chambers another round and this time just aims for center of mass. Sho cheers at the near perfect shot from Nagare. He pulls the trigger again and the Vampire collapses with another wound to the stomach.

He smiles through the lens and picks the rifle up before slinging it over his shoulder. He had received a genuine salute from the same man who hadn't even trusted them from the beginning. He turns his back to the now ending scene and starts walking.

"Now we can go."

* * *

Kenzo had no idea where the shot came from, but it wasn't one of their soldiers. Could the Vampires have really come to assist them without an incentive? There was no conceivable reason to.

He dashes forward as Aihara crumples to the ground and immediately throws her over his shoulder. Corporal Dai was already attaching a rope to the lip of the building so they could get down. Kenzo turns to search the rooftops once more, unable to see the Vampires. He pauses and salutes the open air anyway.

The last five helicopters kicked their engines to max as they appeared inside the smoke. They were pulled on and the military vehicles began lifting off immediately. He wasn't dead... It looked like the mission had finally be accomplished. He leaned his head back onto the wall of the chopper and immediately fell asleep.

* * *

x

* * *

 _ **[]**_

So quite a lot happened in this lengthy chapter, from the introduction of werewolves, to the escape of nearly a thousand livestock to JIDA. I apologize if I forget something integral or important, it tends to happen with me. I'll be honest and say that this was probably the chapter I had the least amount of fun writing. I wanted to just skip it but I felt it necessary to illustrate how difficult it was to tear them loose without _everyone_ dying in process. So anyway that's out of the way and we move into a completely different arc I think some of you might enjoy. I'll see you next time.

* * *

x


	5. Shibuya Side Stories

**AN: Welcome back to the next installation of my story, we have officially entered the second arc. Without further ado: Shibuya Side Stories!**

* * *

x

* * *

 **Part 1: Exordium**

 **[The beginning or introductory part, especially of a discourse or treatise]**

* * *

The helicopter flight back to the Shibuya seemed to stretch on forever. I honestly thought that freedom would make me feel different than before. Being free hadn't change much so far, I was starting to wonder if it ever would.

The cool air nipped at my exposed cheeks as I stared down into the abandoned cities below. As far as the eye could see only desolation remained where humans once ruled. It appeared that the Vampires had been telling nothing but the truth. Another thing I couldn't blame on them.

The helicopter was filled to the brim with children around my age. The last of the livestock saved. Eventually the streets below began to bleed together and suddenly everything seemed so warped. I couldn't recognize this world anymore.

I had to wonder why we had done all we had, what had our purpose been really? What about our hopes and dreams, had we somehow lost them in our attempt to escape? The skies above continued to darken as I began to question the point of all we had accomplished. My doubts receded as Chihiro stirred from her slumber beside me. I smiled for a moment, just a little bit.

I guess I really had nothing to really complain about at this moment. We had all managed to survive that ordeal, I suppose I couldn't ask for a better conclusion than that. I felt like I was supposed to feel excited knowing that there was an army surviving against the Vampires... but I didn't.

* * *

When we were within one hundred meters of Shibuya, night had fallen once again. Compared to its pitch black surroundings the cities ahead of us glowed as if they were on fire. It was positively breathtaking if I was being honest with myself.

The pilot eases up on the throttle as we cruise into the air space above Shibuya. Suddenly the vehicle is jostled by air currents and the roaring of a powerful engine. The fighter jet from before passed us instantly, heading towards Tokyo Bay.

Surprisingly enough we seemed to be heading in the same direction as the bay. The city streets of Shibuya were a stark contrast to those beyond their cobblestone walls. The roads and sidewalks were maintained and the people looked... normal.

Our helicopter circled around the mouth of the bay twice waiting patiently for an open space. I hoped Shimura, Nagare and even Sho were still alive. Just what had they given up for my pipe dream?

I think I might have an idea what they lost.

Two helicopters take off from the coast and the pilot prepares for a landing. How many human soldiers had died so that the livestock could escape and live? Would the survivors think their sacrifices worthy?

I couldn't be sure.

The pilot pulls back a lever back inside the cockpit as we continue to descend. The sleeping livestock... children began to stir as the helicopter finally came to a rest on the ground. The pilot released the throttle and turned back to look at us. He acknowledges us with a nod before turning to face forward again.

I was the first one to clamber out and stretch my limbs. I yawned into my open palm, but didn't hear it over the engine of the helicopter. There was dirt beneath my feet strangely enough. In fact, it looked like this entire block was grass and ferns.

It was like someone had taken a pickaxe to the pavement and turned it into loose gravel. The smallish grassland easily spanned at least three lots worth of space.

There were wooden tables strewn all across the lawn, most partially filled with children. The crazy part was the food on the tables, the army was feeding us. Unbelievable.

I sigh as my stomach betrays my mind and bays at me like a feral dog. I cast my eyes all around the stationary tables in search of either Ako Taichi or any of any of the rest really.

I don't wait around to see if the others follow me after I spot Fumie munching on a piece of bread. All it took after that was to follow her back to the table the Hyakuya family had chosen for themselves. She doesn't notice my presence until I was already at their table. I run my hands through her hair affectionately.

I turn away from the table again towards the rather large tents strewn across the greenery. If I had to guess that must be where the top brass was staying while they fed their new wards.

There was no way my eyes were deceiving me now. It was the most mouthwatering meal I had seen in years.

"No way, are guys eating cheese Hamburg steak?!"

* * *

I was so busy stuffing my face that I missed the soldiers emerging from their tents en mass. It wasn't until they were all lined up in formation and silenced reigned that he took notice.

One of the soldiers steps out in front of the pack with a serious expression. His uniform had silver colored shoulder epaulettes and an aiguillette to boot. I was getting a head honcho vibe from him, not unlike Ferid Bathory.

"Greetings children, my name is Josuke Abukara and I am the Command Sergeant Major of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. I'm glad most of you made it here safe and sound. Now that you've all arrived and had a chance to eat we need to move onto business. Before you can enter Shibuya we need some basic information on you to start building a file for each of you. When you're ready to begin your new lives line up in front of the tent of your choice for processing."

He gives us all a genuine salute and turns on his heels to head back to his tent. The soldiers with him all follow his example, saluting us respectfully despite their positions.

I turn away from the tents to see most of my companions beside themselves with excitement. I guess the nightmare really was over, it was time to start something totally new.

* * *

The doctor barely even gave me a glance as he scribbled incessantly on his notepad. Maybe calling than man a doctor was an overstatement and he was simply a physician?

"Name?"

"Yuichiro Hyakuya."

"Age?"

"Twelve."

He reaches forward and gentle forces my right eye open with his pointer finger and thumb. He shines a light directly into the iris to see it contract.

"Green eye color, interesting. Usually unique genetic phenotypes appear because of curses or contact with demons. I was going to ask anyway but now I really to need a blood sample. You wouldn't happen to know your blood type?"

He takes a step back and begins to rifle through his leather bag. He pulls out a hypodermic needle and a small bottle of fluid. He sits the bottle down on the counter beside me and moves in closer with the needle. I shake my head no in answer to his question.

"No matter, we can find out soon enough. Hold still, this might sting."

His phlebotomy was excellent by my standard and the pain was minimal. It was even comparable to the Vampires who had been siphoning blood for millennia. I watched the blood leave my body and enter the tube with the same disinterest as when the Vampires did it.

"Excellent, now the inoculation and I can stamp you for entry into Shibuya."

"Inoculation?"

"I believe it would also be called a vaccination. You show signs of stress and fatigue not caused by emotional or physical trauma. It's a misconception that the Apocalypse Virus doesn't affect those under thirteen. It can and will enter your system, biding its time until you reach fourteen."

He pierces the top of the jar with the needle and starts drawing the fluid out. The body of the needle is slowly filled with the clear, plain looking substance. He then lightly shakes the needle and the liquid changes to a luminescent green color.

The initial pain was negligible compared to the near agony that followed. The fluid burned on its way in and spread through my body with each beat of my heart. A small price to pay I suppose.

The doctor removes the needle from my vein and stamps the now completed file. He tucks the file away into his bag along with the others who came before me. He smiles in a way I couldn't read before speaking again.

"Welcome to Shibuya."

* * *

 **Part 2: Hiraeth**

 **[A homesickness for a home you can't return to, or that never was]**

 _Three days later..._

* * *

I woke up to the same annoying alarm clock and steel bunk above my head. The last few days had seen that I become complacent and lazy. Now that our goal had been reached, I hadn't seen it necessary to do very much.

I rub the sleep from my eyes furiously as the smell of food enters of my nostrils. I voluntarily roll out of bed as the smell wafts even further into the room I shared with dozens of others.

I was prepared to leave when I noticed someone else still drowning in their covers. I yawn and pat myself on the back prematurely for getting my good deed done so early.

I push against her shoulders in an attempt to rouse her from her slumber. She begins to stir rather grumpily, not that it was unexpected.

"Tsunemori... Tsunemori you overslept, breakfast is being served."

She wakes up with a start, a black sleep mask over her eyes. It was my first time seeing her wear that, maybe a souvenir from a past life. She groans in my direction and slams her face back down into her pillow.

"Suit yourself."

"Save me a red bean bun!"

I don't bother responding verbally and instead snort at her obvious comeback. I tap the frame of the door twice and start my journey to the mess hall. The hallways were quiet and desolate, the consequence of getting up later than most people.

If Tsunemori didn't get up, then I might just bring her an entire tray. I could be such a nice person when I wanted to be.

* * *

I make it to the mess hall without complications and immediately sought the table my companions had been using since our arrival. The line of people waiting for their food by this time was nearly empty.

No one at the table notices me enter and I immediately stake my claim at the end of the line. The end of the line was fortunately not far from the front and several people were already making it longer.

I groan internally in annoyance as I recognize the person just behind me. I had attracted some of the bottom feeders from our escapade. She was annoying to say the least.

"Hi Yuichiro. You look like shit."

"Can I help you?"

"Not really, just making conversation."

I ignore her barbed comment, partially because I wanted to avoid confrontation so early and partially because it was true. The bags under my eyes had only grown worse as the virus hung on for dear life. Luckily, death was not in the equation at all.

"I only look like shit because of the virus, you on the other hand have nothing to blame but life itself."

Her face took on a red tinge as her anger began to boil over. People could dish insults out all day but cried bloody murder when it was turned on them.

"Checkmate."

I grab an extra red bean bun for Tsunemori and sit it down on my tray, all the while ignoring her sputtering. I don't even allow her to come up with response before I was done with the line. I wave a snarky goodbye with my free hand.

* * *

"I hate vegetables!"

"Carrots are the worst!"

While I certainly agreed with them on flavor aspect, if we had any hope of staying healthy... they needed to eat. Not just sweets but the vegetables to grow stronger.

"Steamed vegetables... no complaining this is supposed to be good for us. Right? Mikaela? Akane?"

Akane smiles and nods despite hating them herself while Mikaela becomes enamored with the tiles on the floor. I break apart the chopsticks provided with the meal and hold them awkwardly. Much better than my first attempt.

My eye twitches as I catch sight of chopped carrots on the plate. I honestly preferred them raw if I was going to eat them at all. I hated them mushy, like they always were after cooking. Bleh.

I plugged my nose with one hand and shoveled in some carrots with a bite of rice. If I didn't eat them then nobody at our table would. I chew militarily and then swallow heartily. I turn to look down the table and they all collectively sigh.

I smile brightly in response over the dull roar of the mess hall. Out of the corner of my eye I catch sight of the physician Asanuma tapping his pocket watch.

The army had taken a particular interest in the Hyakuya name not long after out arrival. Although that wasn't why the doctor was here at all.

I grab the sweet bun and toss it to Akane as I stand up.

"Give that to Tsunemori, she's still sleeping."

I excuse myself and stand up from my seat. I snag a granola bar from my tray and slide it to the middle of the table. No use wasting food rations.

* * *

"I'm glad to see the Apocalypse Virus is finally beginning to die off. You had me worried when you suddenly relapsed two days ago. I'm glad to see it was a red herring after all."

He continues to scribble down notes into my quickly growing file. He then pauses and closes the folder with a sigh. He sits down his pen and looks me in the eye with a serious expression.

"I received the results of your bloodwork this morning and I'll be frank with you, they aren't favorable. I'll just come out and say it, there is evidence to suggest you've been the subject of extensive human experimentation. Although I'm willing to bet you yourself have no such memories?"

The doctor continues to rummage through his filing cabinet as I stared in silence. It was true, all I remembered was being abandoned and then being taken in by the Hyakuya Orphanage.

The doctor sits down a vial on the counter in full view. He then sits a hypodermic needle down next to it and turns to look at me.

"I know this must be hard to believe, but someone used you. Whoever did likely tampered with your memories to cover up the deed. However, now that you are staying in Shibuya we can set right what once went wrong. This powerful drug can forcefully remove the inhibitors from your brain... you'll remember everything you forgot."

I was no longer paying attention to anything he had to say. All I could think about was the fact that the Hyakuya Orphanage had betrayed us all. I remembered arriving and on that same day the apocalypse happened. It had to all be lies... it had to be.

"How can you expect me to believe that? My parents despised me, they thought I was the spawn of the devil before I ever even joined the orphanage."

None of what he said added up, whatever experimentation happened wasn't done by my parents. It just wasn't possible, that would make them the reason they hated me in the first place.

"Listen doctor, I'm not interested. I know what happened in my past and I've come to terms with it. I don't need new conflicting ideas to think about right now."

The doctor nods in acceptance and begins to put away all the things he had taken out.

* * *

 _The next day..._

* * *

I was beginning to regret my kneejerk reaction to the doctor. Of course he was only trying to help me, there wasn't anything in it for him. The more I thought about it, the less sense it made. Was it even possible that everything I knew was a lie created to trick me? I had even made the effort to ask Akane when I had first

I reached my breaking point during lunch the next day. I was going to start throwing things at the wall and see what stuck. I guess I really did have a lot to lose in this situation. I cast a sidelong glance to my right, watching Akane for a moment.

"Say... Akane... can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can, Yu."

"Do you remember what your parents were like?"

The food on the way to her mouth stops midway at my question. The perpetual smile that always graced her face was nowhere to be seen. She looked so sad.

"To be honest, I don't remember them at all. I've been with the orphanage longest, and I only know what I was told."

"One more thing... you wouldn't happen to remember the day I first arrived at the orphanage would you?"

She turns to look at with me the strangest expression, a question in her brown eyes. Because this was a question I should have already had the answer to already... and yet...

"It was on Christmas day, wasn't it?"

My eyes narrow in suspicion as my greatest fears neared confirmation. Our memories matched up, which either meant that both of us had been tampered with... or it really happened.

"Then what day did the Apocalypse start?"

Her breath catches in her throat as the two questions bring up conflicting information. I remembered arriving on Christmas day too, and that was also the day the Apocalypse began. But if the look on her face was any indication, those two things didn't happen on the same day.

"Thanks Akane."

"For what?"

"For bringing the truth into the light."

She stares at me in wonder as I rise from the table early. I couldn't stomach anymore food at this point. There was only one thing on my mind.

* * *

After half an hour of waiting in his reception area, trying to stay alert and awake I was allowed in to see the physician who was nearly done for the day. He didn't look all that surprised to see me back so soon.

"I've changed my mind... if you're still willing to help fix my memories."

"Are you quite certain, Yuichiro?"

"No matter what happens in the future, or what's going on now in the present... I need to know what really happened in my past. Whatever horror that means facing."

The doctor nods and his head in confirmation and proceeds to lock the door behind me. He swabs the top of my forearm with alcohol and then retrieves the syringe. He sits down the vial full of the drug in plain view.

After the initial inoculation any other narcotic couldn't possibly hurt at much. Even as the drug coursed through my veins I didn't notice any immediate effects. I shivered as he started loading the needle again with more of the substance.

"The drug is going to need some time to circulate through your body. Once it starts to take effect you will relive your lost memories. Once the process has begun it cannot be ended prematurely."

I nod slowly as the room around me began to shimmer and warp. From this point forward it was all me, just try not to go insane with grief. I plunged headfirst into the darkness and didn't bother looking back.

* * *

 **Part 3: The Brotherhood of a Thousand Nights**

 **[Hyakuya Sect]**

* * *

Troubling as it was... I was far from the first of their unfortunate victims. Where the Hyakuya Sect went a trail of desecrated bodies followed in their wake. It was just my luck that I became the monumental success that triggered the cataclysm.

The Brotherhood of a Thousand Nights had finally gotten the correct percentages. Any more than ten percent of Seraph DNA resulted in violent possessions and any less left the subject unchanged. In either case failed test subjects were discarded like trash.

Power like they desired was horrifying and grossly unnecessary. It went so much further than simply military supremacy or social dominance. Such a power could easily destroy the world more easily than it could control it. I couldn't understand their logic in the slightest.

After knowing the truth, I wished it could have been anyone else other than me. I think I'd have rather died along with the adults. They already knew true peace.

* * *

Thunder boomed high above our house, accompanied by a flash of lightning moments later. It was so loud that we almost missed the soft knocks that trailed behind it. Almost intentionally quiet.

My mother being the closest to the front door quickly volunteered herself to see who was there. I could only stand in place and stare, for it yet to dawn on me that I was reliving a distorted memory.

She instinctively looks through the peephole on the door first. The man on the other side of the door smiles warmly, despite being unable to see her. He appeared to be well kempt from what she could make out.

"Can I take a bit of your time neighbor?"

His voice was as smooth as silk and had soothed the nerves of many. A true wolf that walked amongst sheep as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

I knew at that moment that this was a memory that should've stayed forgotten. She blinks twice before setting about unlocking the door. There was never anything I could have done in this situation.

The moment the door opened fully he doused her with a gaseous substance. She stumbles back in shock and coughs violently after inhaling the toxic gas. The man takes a step into the apartment and nails her again with another compressed burst of gas. This time she collapses onto her knees in a coughing fit.

The man tosses the gas dispenser up into the air and catches nonchalantly. He didn't have a single drop of water on his pristine suit, an impossibility with the thunderstorm going on outside. He looks my mother in the eye and twirls the dispenser.

"Where is Shinichi Amane?"

She manages to suppress her coughing for a moment as she stared back at him. Her breath was ragged as whatever chemical he used on her worked its magic. Her green eyes dart across the room subtly at my frozen form.

"Yuichiro... darling... please run..."

She barely got the words out before the man kicks her in the chest roughly. She lands on her back and gasps in pain. The man aims the cylindrical dispenser at her again and blasts her for the third time.

My eyes begin to water as I realize that everything I remembered about my parents had been complete a lie. They had loved me after all, and I wasn't abandoned.

She sputters for a moment but goes silent not long after. Somehow I knew that she was already dead. His faced remained completely neutral despite his murderous actions. The front door to the apartment slams shut behind his back and locks _itself_. Despite his human appearance, this man had to be a Vampire.

He steps over my mother's corpse and I finally noticed the tears streaming down my face. He bypasses me nonchalantly, now in search of my father. He clicks the button on the side of gas dispenser absentmindedly. The device must have finally been empty after three uses.

Whatever grief had I had must have been much worse for my father who hid quietly. The black handle kitchen knife in his hands contrasted heavily with his white knuckles. Gripping the weapon tightly to hide his intense grief.

He sprung from his hiding spot when Saito turned his back. The Vampire payed dearly for entering the apartment with most of his Vampiric powers sealed off. The knife digs deeply into his shoulder disk before he gets a hold of Mr. Amane.

He twists his fragile wrist and breaks it in one snap. He then flips the human over his shoulder and onto his back. He reaches into the other side of his vest and pulls out a modified EpiPen.

He jams the needle into the vulnerable chest of my father and then kicks the man onto his side. He clicks his tongue before removing the knife embedded in his shoulder without even wincing. The knife lands inches away from my nearly immobilized father.

"What the hell are you?"

"Just a humble assassin on a mission."

The Vampire dusts himself off after the scuffle and then straightens his tie. My father lunges for the knife again only to get his remaining good wrist crushed under his foot.

"Still so feisty, even after being drugged. You're a tough bastard."

The deep wound on his shoulder finally begins to heal and closes itself in moments. Mr. Amane was already beginning to lose himself to the mind altering drug in his system. He reaches out and grabs the Vampires pant leg in desperation.

"Please... please don't... please don't kill my son..."

"I wouldn't dream of it, he's very valuable to us you know. His parents were the only ones who needed to die in this equation. Although if he ever proves worthless... he will die."

Mr. Amane grips his pant leg even tighter, try desperately to keep his sanity. He grits his teeth and his grip begins to loosen as the strength drained from his body.

 _I'm not strong enough... Yuichiro... I'm so sorry..._

Saito clicks his tongue as Mr. Amane finally stops breathing. Eyes open and still glistening with freshly supplied tears. The Vampire then turns towards me with those same cold eyes.

"Now the easy part, it's time to disappear."

* * *

The moment he finished the sentence my vision blackened. Light seemed to flood from above and I awoke with a start. I gulped down breath after breath of air before collapsing onto my back again.

Tears poured from my eyes as I continued to stare up at the ceiling of the doctor's office. My heart ached with guilt for the parents I had cursed and ridiculed. For the place that had lied to me so easily and used me for personal gain. The people who took everything that mattered to me away in on go.

What a fool I had been.

Hate for the Vampires that had begun to disappear began to fill my heart once again. The organization that had taken away my parents would have me to deal with now. Because the ones who loved me unconditionally were dead and gone. Yet here I was, still alive and still unworthy.

* * *

 **Part 4: Hiragi**

 **[Order of Imperial Demons; Holly]**

 _Early the next morning..._

* * *

I skipped breakfast, still unable to even fathom the thought of cramming food down. I than decided against lunch despite my better nature and stayed in my shared cabin. I hadn't spoken to anyone and had actively ignored even my tireless companions despite my better judgement.

What finally caused me to throw the covers off my head was the crackling of the building intercom. Old fashioned as it was the volume was nothing to sniff at. It easily penetrated through the closed door and my layers of sheets with ample sound to spare. I wished I had ignored it.

"Yuichiro, Mikaela and Akane Hyakuya please report to the front of the building. You are being summoned."

I push the covers from my face and sigh tiredly. I guess it would be best to go see what they wanted with us exactly. Acting like I hjadnt heard it could bring further problems down the road.

* * *

The courtyard ahead of us was impressive, all things considered. It was shaped distinctly rectangular and surrounded on all sides by buildings. I stopped walking to admire it, casting my dull eyes all around. I turn at the sound of one of the soldiers calling.

"If you're done admiring the architecture, the Hiragi family are waiting."

I hurried over at his behest but stopped as I caught sight of the stairs.

He gestured to a stairway that seemed to go down into the earth below the buildings. In fact this entire area looked like a modified subway station entrance. The area below wasn't even lit and darkness seemed to swallow everything whole.

"Down there?"

The soldiers nod reluctantly, looking unwilling to answer any further questions. Even with that knowledge I attempt to ask a question and the soldier on the left cuts me off deftly.

"At the bottom of the stairs take the elevator to the highest floor. We cant follow you any further."

The soldier doesn't look us in the eye and turns away from us completely. What exactly was he so afraid of? This Hiragi family were suppose to be the benevolent leaders of this rather benevolent army. A truly benevolent entity shouldn't drive fear into their subjects.

* * *

Even the elevator looked out of place in the world we now lived in, a fan blew cool air on us. The building was air conditioned and pristine, definitive proof that not every human was impoverished by the apocalypse. The building itself was well lit but looked hard to navigate without proper instructions.

The moment we stepped off the lift it closed just as quickly. The camera in the corner of the room turns toward us and zooms in for a moment. The intercom crackles on next, making it abundantly clear we were being watched closely.

"Proceed down the first hallway."

Mikaela shrugs his shoulders and starts walking forward towards the narrow hallway. The camera follows him for a moment before shifting back to its default position. I follow Mikaela reluctantly already left with few other options.

We didn't ave to actually go much further than that really. Directly ahead of us was a woman with platinum blond hair. She stood like an unmovable guard to the set of double doors behind her. She glances at us for a moment before opening the doors herself. Then stood aside for us to walk in ourselves, she never once looked in our eyes.

"My master is waiting for you at the end of the corridor. Please do not make him wait any longer."

* * *

The man before us was not only physically imposing but his presence alone was suffocating me. He exuded power from every pore on his body and was aware of every moment of it. Despite the childishness of it I wondered how long it took him to get his eyebrows into that design or if it was genetic.

"Greetings, my name is Kureto Hiragi. I am the Lieutenant General of the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. First allow me to apologize for calling you three here so late in the evening. I'll be the first to admit it was rather uncouth of me. I was excited to meet you three because I heart that the mass exodus of livestock from Sanguinem was in part due to the machinations of those with the family name Hyakuya."

His eyes narrow with a frightening intensity and I feared for a moment that he knew about the orphanage. Could he possibly know anything about the human experimentation? He reaches out with an open palm with frighteningly intense eyes.

"That is neither here nor there though... onto the reason I called you here. Mikaela, Yuichiro and Akane Hyakuya... the Hiragi family could certainly use your resourcefulness and skills on the battlefield. Allow me to be your guide in this new world. Of course I'm also willing to adopt the entirety of your family to sweeten the pot. What say you children, wanna help us finally drive the Vampires out of Japan?"

He stands from his leaning position against the wall and sits behind his desk. There was no smug look on his face, only patience for an answer to his offer.

Mikaela looked absolutely besides himself with excitement. All he could see was the light at the end of the tunnel they had been trapped in. All he cared about was that before him there was an out... an exit to this hell. I envied his optimism.

"Of course! We would be happy to accept-"

"Speak for yourself... I must respectfully decline, Lieutenant General sir."

His intense stare ends as he closes his eyes softly. I successfully ignored the looks of startled surprise from both Akane and Mikaela. Those eyes quickly became mortified.

"If you walk out of this building, and you give up hope of ever joining the Hiragi family. Allow me to help you understand something, our three cities are subject to a plethora of rules and regulations. In this instance the most important thing you need to know is Edict 47. All residents in the interior of Shibuya must be military personnel or familial units. None of our citizens are idle, you either contribute to society or make room for those who do. That goes without saying of course."

I stared this man down, a soldier who could end me as quickly as any Vampire. I had grown a lot in the last four years, and I did not waver.

"Am I dismissed?"

He stares at me with an unreadable expression for the longest time before sitting back in his chair. He surprisingly didn't appear angry in the least, something I had been preparing for.

"You are dismissed. Mikaela and Akane, if you still wish to join our family, stay."

Their eyes drift away from me as he spoke their names yet again. As I turned to leave his illustrious office, their eyes flickered for a moment. Then they made their choice and I was alone in this world again.

* * *

 **Part 5: Cognitive Dissonance**

 **[The state of having inconsistent thoughts, beliefs, or attitudes, especially relating to behavioral decisions and attitude change]**

* * *

Night had fallen by the time I got back to the first floor of the building. Doubts about my decision had already began to infest my mind. Could being the subordinate and family member of the Kureto fellow have been so bad? There was no sure way to tell.

I wandered around in the rain for the longest time, not bothered by my water logged clothes. I wanted to know with certainty that Akane and Mikaela arrived back before me. There was no way I could look at them face to face after what happened.

No matter how big Shibuya was it was still suffocating. Even with the streets devoid of human life and the rain pouring around me. Thinking about it now I began to wonder if my actions were selfish. Could humans really afford morals in this new and treacherous world?

Maybe things had actually panned out for the best after all. The children of the orphanage would choose the brother they had known longer for sure. Mikaela would never put them in the path of danger. The army would look after them all, to insure their absolute loyalty of course.

I had followed my heart desires right out of the lion's den and into the darkness beyond. Maybe the situation wasn't as black and white as I previously believed. It was just a shame that my actions were set in stone, there was no way to return to the beginning. I'm glad they had finally found another place to belong, but it wasn't looking the same way for me. All I know now is that right now, I must move forward. It is the only path remaining to me.

* * *

x

* * *

 ** _So the true tragedy of this story has finally revealed itself! If you listen closely the dynamic gears of this world are changing as we speak. If it wasn't obvious already this arc will focus on events set in the time before Yuichiro joined the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. While I'm sure many people were hoping for me to just timeskip my way to the action(I considered it) the story will make more sense if I build it this way. Plus you have to admit that the alliteration is for this arc is amazing. I'm sure some of you will find enjoyment in this arc. Thank you for reading and wait in anticipation because next chapter will focus on the repercussions of the divide between the Hyakuya family and the implications for the future our lonely hero._**


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